Platform for women's savings groups.

Connecting microenterprises with resources, financing and a network of people through a digital platform.

A digital platform that enables digital inclusion of the maximum number of women participating in SHGs in India, with the objective of generating collaboration among them and growth of their businesses.

Detectad need:

Lack of opportunities and life options for women.

Solution:

Co-create an inclusive and participatory digital platform.

Context of the problem.

To address the situation of inequality and financial exclusion that women in India have traditionally lived in, Self Help Gorups (Savings Groups) were born. They are effective programs to improve access to credit and training for vulnerable women, aiming to improve their livelihoods through a methodology based on trust and mutual support.

Women participating in SHGs (currently 75 million in India) are mostly poor and more than half are illiterate. Their livelihood is mainly related to agriculture or small businesses, but always in the informal sector, with no opportunities to access formal employment. However, factors such as the digital divide, isolation in remote areas that prevents them from marketing their products in larger markets and lack of funding prevent groups from reaching their full potential in today’s digital age.

Work done.

This project idea, based on a need detected in India, was born in 2022. During that year, a listening and research phase is carried out until 2023. The objective of this first phase is to learn about the needs, capacities and challenges faced by women members of savings groups in India and the social entities that work with them.

With the information gathered, the design of a proof of concept was started together with AWS. The result was the design of a base structure for a Digital Platform that would allow the creation of a Group of Groups, interconnecting and interlinking savings groups throughout the country.

The project is currently on hold due to the updated needs of the NGOs collaborating in the project.