Shithna, the Entrepreneur

Shithna Hussein, commonly known as Shithoo, 35 years old, is the owner of ‘Meemeeri’ brand, which makes products such as Addu gulha, Dhivehi havaadhu, Theluli ala, Kulhi kaaja, Masmirus and many more. 

Her brand name ‘Meemeeri’, is an Addu word which loosely translates to ‘is it tasty?’.

At first, she used to work in resorts, but changed back to her home island S. Hithadhoo due to pregnancy. After that she decided to start her own business, and now ‘Meemeeri’ is her full-time job. She noted that it is a very busy work but is an exciting career.

When asked about what the biggest obstacles were, she said that the biggest issue when starting Meemeeri was not having an adequate budget to buy the necessary equipment and material needed to prepare her products. She noted that the  biggest issue she faces now is not having the budget and chance to make her products widely available throughout Maldives. 

She also noted that although there is a Women Development Committee in Addu, she doesn’t see any support from them to empower women such as her who are working from home and doing their own work. 

She noted that WDC and councils could hold meetings with the local women to see what they could do to empower and help locals with their works.

She mentioned that she gets a lot of help from her friends and family, especially to find the containers she needs to sell her products in. Shithoo especially mentioned that the greatest help she gets is from her mother. She noted that although her mother is a cancer patient, the help and support she gets from her mother is immeasurable.

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