Empowerment of women is very close to my heart. No household, no society, no state, no country has ever moved forward without empowering them. Said Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik in November, 2018 after introducing a resolution in the assembly, proposing 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislative assemblies.
The principle of gender equality is enshrined in our constitution. Odisha must show its commitment and resolve to the entire country that it is the land where women are truly empowered.” added Patnaik
In a bid to improve the lives of women and low- and moderate-income population in the state by advancing women’s economic empowerment.
Odisha government’s Department of Mission Shakti and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), on Monday signed an agreement to announce the launch of the Mission Shakti Living Lab. The Living Lab is a joint initiative designed by the state Government of Odisha and UNCDF through its Centre for Financial Health to empower women economically and drive gender equality. The agreement was signed by Sujata R. Karthikeyan, Commissioner cum Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti and Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary, UNCDF.
The partnership will address barriers that limit women’s access to financial security, autonomy and financial freedom with use of digital technologies and rising e-commerce industry in India. It will help 3.5 million SHG women members and low income individuals to have access to digital financial services and improved financial health. It will help 10,000 women-led micro-enterprises get better access to affordable market opportunities, capital for business promotion, and market solutions for better linkages. The programme will improve the ability of SHG members and households to plan, save, borrow or spend better thereby improving their women’s financial wellbeing.
The initiative will create income and better savings opportunities by levering digital platforms. The state of Odisha is geared towards embracing the new age of digital innovation to economically empower SHG members and women micro-entrepreneurs.
Sujata R. Karthikeyan, Commissioner cum Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti, while signing the MoU said, “Economic empowerment of women is critical to the state’s growth and today we have a real opportunity to use new technologies to increase women’s participation in the economy. The partnership between Mission Shakti and UNCDF’s Centre for Financial Health is timely and crucial to accelerate the access to digital services that can increase women’s income and financial well-being.” She added, “In Odisha, Mission Shakti’s efforts have led to incremental increase in income of SHG members from INR 3,000 to 15,000 per month”.
Talking at the event, Henri Dommel, Director of Inclusive Digital Economies practice at UNCDF said, “We have a real opportunity to use new technologies and infrastructure to enhance women’s financial security and financial freedom and move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on women can only be lessened if we purposefully target and invest in women. UNCDF is proud to be partnering with Mission Shakti through its Center for Financial Health. This partnership will drive its efforts in improving women’s agency and financial resilience. The Mission Shakti Living Lab will incubate, scale and drive innovative digital solutions to create conditions for women to be financially healthy through the creation of fair and stable markets for their products.”
UNCDF will introduce a range of financial and non-financial services to further empower women to expand their businesses and meet their financial goals.
The partnership has established a Living Lab aimed at accelerating women’s economic empowerment by working directly with the SHGs and women as part of that—through income generation activities and skill-building—while reaching lower income communities, especially rural women, with innovations such as financial and digital platforms aimed at improving financial health through the creation of fair and stable markets for women’s products. Read the Press Release
In four years, at least 10,000 women micro-enterprises and 3.5 million women and low/moderate income households in state will see improvements to their financial health and well-being owing to increased digital access and measured by growing levels of capital participation. This enhanced financial health will allow for greater financial resilience, control and freedom.
The programme will mobilize a diverse set of market players to develop sustainable business models that have the potential to scale across other parts of Odisha and the country while solving financial health challenges that could help rural women in Odisha become financially resilient and achieve financial independence. The overarching goal is to create capital for women and improve lives through increased and meaningful usage of financial and non-financial tools and resources while leveraging Mission Shakti’s existing strong base of community institutions.
Notably, at times when India with a widened gender gap of 37.5 percent, has one of the lowest rates of female labour participation in the world at 21 per cent. Compared to its Smaller and less developed neighbors Bangladesh (30.5 per cent) and Sri Lanka (33.7 per cent).
The focus of the Mission Shakti Living Lab is to increase women’s agency and well-being to improve their financial health through their participation in supply chains while seeking to narrow gender gaps or level the playing field more broadly. Efforts include enabling a wide range of services that women need, including helping them get money when they need it, manage it well and buy what they need, all while building their financial resilience and security.
One year after coming to Power in 2001, Naveen Patnaik recognizing the untapped potential of its female residents, instituted Mission Shakti, a key programme under the Government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development which aims to strengthen women Self Help Groups (SHG) and leverages social capital to enhance women’s economic empowerment through financial health.
Patnaik started the Mission Shakti programme, with the objective of organising women into SHGs for holistic empowerment and targeted livelihood activities. In April 2017, a separate directorate of Mission Shakti was created under the Women and Child Development Department.
The state has as much as over six lakh SHGs, having 70 lakh members with Rs 5,000 crore savings and Rs 2,000 crore annual bank exposure.
During Covid times Mission Shakti was Instrumental
Around 400 SHGs manufactured over 3.5 million masks for distribution among people last year.
When dry ration and vegetable shops were shut in rural Odisha, the SHGs distributed more than 9 million cooked meals through the free kitchens managed by them in gram panchayats.
UNCDF’s work in financial health is centred on enhancing people’s financial security, resilience and wellbeing. Engaging women in economic activities empowers them to achieve positive changes in their lives and that of communities and the nation at large, which in turn contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
