Empowering Women - United Way India

Empowering Women

Empowering Women

An Overview

The Hindi word “Sampann” means “prosperous” or “successful.”

This project aims to break down barriers to economic exclusion for women entrepreneurs in India. The project empowers the beneficiary group by enhancing their capabilities in social and economic skills, improving financial literacy, and providing support for job placements or establishment of small-scale businesses.

The Need

Women in India face several challenges, including poor health conditions, lower educational achievements, reduced economic participation, and higher rates of poverty, due to the socio-economic fabric of the country. In India, a majority of households depend on a single source of livelihood.

Due to the lack of quality education, girls often drop out and are unable to pursue further education and livelihood opportunities. This situation often leads to early marriages, and the vicious cycle continues because women themselves lack access to quality education and opportunities for financial independence.

The Benefits

  • Enhanced levels of business activity and revenue for women-managed Kirana (grocery) shops
  • Expansion of financial inclusion and digital payment adoption among women Kirana (grocery) shop owners
  • Strengthening of business skills, entrepreneurial drive, and capacities through business development and digital literacy trainings

The Intervention

Based on the findings of a baseline study on challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, United Way India developed a project to empower women economically and socially, helping them run small retail (Kirana) businesses with financial and digital services access while enhancing their decision-making abilities.
The project support includes:

1) Equipment directly linked to business operations, such as refrigerators, POS (point of sale) machines, and weighing machines. Eg.: Refrigerators help entrepreneurs stock products requiring refrigerated storage, like dairy products, ice creams, and cold drinks. POS machines streamline business operations and help maintain digital records. 

2) Equipment to facilitate and promote financial literacy and digital payments, such as smartphones. Access to smartphones promotes financial literacy and digital payment adoption thereby expanding the customer base. It also helps entrepreneurs track transactions and access credit in the future.

3) Supplementary inventory to revive and strengthen businesses leading to increased sales and income, with profits reinvested in the shop, propelling a cycle of growth.

Beneficiaries

570 women entrepreneurs in Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh

Impact Till Date

The project supported 570 women entrepreneurs by strengthening their businesses and building capacity for post-covid rehabilitation for business growth

To know more, write to us at info@uwindia.org

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