Bhubaneswar: With just a few days left for Raja festival, the Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME), under the Micro Small Medium and Industries (MSME), has organised a Raja shopping exhibition here to boost women entrepreneurship and promote Odisha's indigenous products.More than 110 women entrepreneurs across the state have participated in the four-daylong exhibition, inaugurated on June 6, offering a colourful blend of handmade crafts, organic spices, herbal cosmetics, traditional and designer wear, home decor items, jewellery, millet-based food products, grooming services and more.Mamun Dash, a grooming expert, received an overwhelming response at her stall. "This exhibition gave me a wonderful chance to interact with new clients and promote my brand.

Many women have shown interest in grooming and self-care sessions ahead of Raja and I have got bookings of over Rs 5 lakh," she said.Another entrepreneur, Rashmita Mishra, who was selling a millet-based food products, expressed satisfaction with the response to her organic products. "The awareness about healthy eating is growing. My millet food and spice blends have been very well received. I have brought 36 varieties of products, I have even taken bulk orders from corporates and homemakers here," she said.

"I came here just to browse, but ended up buying handmade jewellery, millet snacks and even booking a grooming session. It's amazing to see so many women-led ventures under one roof in this pre- Raja time. This is a good initiative and the perfect time for Raja shopping," Priyanka Mohanty said.The Raja festival will be celebrated on June 14. OASME president Satwik Swain said, "Raja is a time when every household shops for new clothes, beauty items, food and gifts.

This pre-Raja timing is strategic — it boosts small businesses and connects entrepreneurs directly with consumers.""Our goal is to transform seasonal opportunities into long-term growth for women entrepreneurs," Swain added.Kamaljit Das, the CEO of Startup Odisha and Joint Secretary of MSME, said, "Odisha's women entrepreneurs are not just preserving tradition but transforming it into an enterprise. Events like this provide them with the visibility, customer base and confidence they need to scale up. We are committed to supporting such vibrant local ecosystem."