Eileen Rose Sankaracharya walked away as the aspiring entrepreneur of the year at the Women in Business Awards last Friday night.

The founder of Peachylini who runs a destination wedding photography business based in Nadi was encouraged by her mum to take a gap year from studying medicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic was not an easy journey for Eileen and her business as she had no other source of income and so she got more involved with her church youth and charity work.

“We were giving out food packs in the streets, conducting ministry work, gave out church pamphlets and this kept me inspired as I had my camera with me the whole way” she said.

In five years Eileen hopes to expand her business with more inspiring young girls and women who have a passion for this line of work.

The win came as a surprise for her but one that was well deserved.

She has advised young women who want to venture into the photography industry to “stick to it, if this is something you’ve never done before, be ready to be pushed out of your comfort zone, work hard and stay dedicated”.