- The World Bank's BETI project educates Indian women in money management and digital skills
- The initiative enables women to start and operate their own businesses
- The pilot program was conducted in partnership with SEWA, a big informal workers' organization
The World Bank's BETI (Business Enterprise Technology for Indian women) pilot project has taught India's micro-level women to use digital tools and manage finances, and thereby create and run businesses.
The pilot scheme, conducted in association with SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association), one of the world's largest organizations representing informal workers, was aimed at Gujarat's women, teaching them how to operate mobile applications and manage their finances.
The World Bank India tweeted that now the women entrepreneurs in Gujarat are using mobile apps to run businesses and being trained for financial management and market access under the project.
As per a World Bank blog, the BETI project is an addition to the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
BETI incorporates the aspect of 'Beti Kamao', envisioning to economically empowering women by empowering them as business leaders and employment generators.
The blog observes that empowering women business leaders is an economic imperative that can deliver considerable dividends to India's economy. It identifies an effective support system as central to raising the number, size, and viability of enterprises owned and run by women.
To do so, women entrepreneurs require assistance in running their businesses, accessing broader markets, and obtaining finance with less difficulty.
The pilot was conducted in four districts of the state of Gujarat—Mehsana, Ahmedabad, Anand, and Bodeli—and equipped women with mobile-based tools to enhance bookkeeping, inventory and debt management, and methodically listing products for sale. The digital tools also made them comprehend elementary business terms like revenue, costs, and profits.
Although there is still room for improvement, including limited smartphone access and reticence towards new technology, numerous women indicated that the tools have facilitated easier income and expenditure tracking, providing a better understanding of their enterprises.
