Shaktimayee, Group of Women Entrepreneurs Completes 6 years

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 1 October 2022

The sixth Shaktimayee Foundation Day was recently observed by Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh, India's leading manufacturer of metallurgical grade alumina. The celebration honoured the accomplishments of the Shaktimayee Foundation, a collection of women Self Help Groups (SHGs) backed by Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh in collaboration with the Mahashakti Foundation, an organisation devoted to assisting underprivileged groups in developing their means of subsistence. Since it began operating in 2016, the Shaktimayee Foundation has grown to include almost 4,000 entrepreneurial women from the districts of Rayagada and Kalahandi.

The club was established as part of Vedanta's Project Sakhi, a programme to empower women through opportunities for skill development and the creation of sources of income, and through its network of members has contributed to social change.

Vedanta Lanjigarh organised a number of events as part of the Shaktimayee Foundation Day activities, including the publication of the Foundation's Annual Report for FY21–22, the recognition of the best-performing SHGs, and the honouring of specific members who had developed successful income-generating projects. Collectively, the group members came up with ideas for the group's future and potential new initiatives.

Commending the members of Shaktimayee Foundation, GG Pal, Deputy CEO, Alumina Business, Vedanta Limited said, “Through the Vedanta Sakhi project, we are expanding the income creation avenues available to women in Lanjigarh and its surrounding areas, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals of Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, Decent Work & Economic Growth, and Sustainable Communities.”