Case Study:

Project Shakti enables Rojamma to be able to educate her daughters

Rojamma is a single parent living in Kurumurthy, a small rural village 150 kilometres
south west of ydera!ad in the "ndian state of #ndhra $radesh% &rom a very poor
!a'kground, she was married at seventeen to a man with whom she had two daughters
!ut who then left her to fend for herself% #t first she earned a few rupees working in her
mother(s field !ut she found it diffi'ult to live on%
# few years ago she joined a woman(s self)help group that was formed in the village to
help women like Rojamma% # man from industan *ever 'ame to Kurumurthy and told
the woman a!out $roje't Shakti% +&rom that moment my life 'hanged,%
industan *ever is -nilever(s !usiness in "ndia% .he 'ompany generates around half its
!usiness from "ndia(s towns and 'ities and half from rural areas, where its produ'ts are
sold in some 100,000 villages with populations of /000 or more% 0y the end of the 1110s,
however, the 'ompany reali2ed that to in'rease its market share it had to e3pand the
market% .he 'hallenge was how to rea'h the 500,000 villages with smaller populations in
more remote parts of the 'ountry, where there are millions of potential 'onsumers !ut no
retail distri!ution network, no advertising 'overage and poor roads and transport%
industan *ever(s solution, 'alled $roje't Shakti 4 whi'h means 5strength6 in Sanskrit7,
was !oth !old and innovative% .he Company de'ided to tap into the growing num!er of
women(s self)help groups that had !een springing up around the 'ountry% .hese groups,
a!out one million of whi'h now e3ists a'ross "ndia, are usually formed to help women
save money and !orrow from ea'h other to avoid the e3'essive demands of uns'rupulous
moneylenders% industan *ever made presentations at rural self)help group meetings,
initially in #ndhra $radesh, and invited women, in'luding Rojamma, to !e'ome dire't)to)
'onsumer sales distri!utors%
.he 'ompany provides self)help group women with training in selling, 'ommer'ial
knowledge and !ook)keeping, tea'hing them to !e'ome fully)fledged mi'ro)
entrepreneurs% .he women who are trained 'an then 'hoose to set up their own !usiness
or to !e'ome $roje't Shakti 45mothers(7 as they have !e'ome known% 8a'h woman who
!e'omes a distri!utor invests 10,000 9 15,000 rupees 4-S: //0 9 ;;07 in sto'k at the
outset 9 usually !orrowing from self)help groups or mi'ro)finan'e !anks fa'ilitated !y
industan *ever% 8a'h aims to have around 500 'ustomers, mainly drawn from her
village(s self)help groups and from near!y smaller villages%
<ost generate sales of 10,000 9 1/000 rupees a month, netting a monthly profit of =00 9
1000 rupees 4-S: 15 9 //7% &or those with hus!ands who work in the fields, this typi'ally
dou!les the household in'ome%
$roje't Shakti has proved to !e a great su''ess for industan *ever and for women in
"ndia% .he proje't started in a few pilot villages in #ndhra $radesh in /000% "n /00/ it
e3panded to two states and !y the end of /00> had grown to over 1;,000 Shakti women
entrepreneurs 'overing 50,000 villages in 1/ states, selling to =0 million 'onsumers% .his
represents a ;0? in'rease in rural population rea'hed%
industan *ever has had strong from over ;00 partners, in'luding @ABs, !anks and !oth
state and lo'al government departments, who re'ogni2e the potential for e'onomi'
growth !y en'ouraging women to !e'ome entrepreneurs% #ndhra $radesh typi'ally had a
;? su''ess rate in 'reating entrepreneurs among women(s self)help groups prior to
proje't Shakti% .his initiative has a 10? su''ess rate so, not surprisingly, #ndhra
$radesh(s Comen(s 8mpowerment Commissioner, <s Ramalakshmi, reDuests monthly
updates on $roje't Shakti(s progress%
"n /00; industan *ever started to pilot an information te'hnology initiative 'alled i)
Shakti% .his is designed to meet rural villager(s information needs and provide
organi2ations with 'ommuni'ations a''ess to those parts of the 'ountry not rea'hed !y
.E, radio newspaper% .his involves 'reating villages 5kiosks( 'ontaining internet)linked
'omputers run !y entrepreneurs%
i)Shakti was formally laun'hed in partnership with the government of #ndhra $radesh in
@ovem!er /00>, and aims to have ;,500 i)Shakti kiosks on stream !y the end of /005%
<ostly housed in the homes of Shakti entrepreneurs, i)Shakti kiosks provide villagers
with free information on a wide range of topi's, in'luding health and hygiene, agri'ulture
and horti'ulture, 'hild and adult edu'ation, finan'e, employment, and entertainment%
Content is in the lo'al language and has !een spe'ially developed !y institutions and
@ABs with e3perts in these fields, in'luding #2im $remji &oundation for 'hildren(s
edu'ation, the .ata Consultan'y Servi'es( #dult *itera'y $rogramme and "CR"S#.
4"nternational Crops Resear'h "nstitute for the Semi)#rid .ropi's7 for information on
agri'ulture%
i)Shakti also in'ludes an intera'tive servi'e in whi'h villagers 'an email Duestions to a
panel of e3perts and re'eive a response within /> hours% Sharat Fhall, industan *ever(s
0usiness ead for the Shakti initiative, is e3'ited a!out i)Shakti(s 'apa!ilities: +&armers
'an find a Dui'k solution to pest pro!lems with their 'rops, villagers 'an email their
symptoms to a do'tor and get a diagnosis in hours rather than days, and 'omputer
programs with voi'eovers will tea'h people who are illiterate,%
industan *ever and its partners are funding the initiative in the initial stages, !ut in
future it is planned to 'harge 'ontent providers and !rand advertisers to make the
initiative self)finan'ing and to generate in'omes for i)Shakti entrepreneurs%
Chile industan *ever is intent on !uilding its rural sales and market share, it is eDually
'ommitted to improving the lives and livelihoods of people in "ndia% Shakti Vani
45Eoi'e(7 takes $roje't Shakti a stage further% industan *ever is now training rural
women to give talks to villages a!out !asi' health pra'ti'es, su'h as good hygiene,
disease prevention and pre) and post)natal 'are%
+$roje't Shakti(s role in 'reating in'omes for underprivileged rural women and helping to
empower them e'onomi'ally is more important than sales alone,, says Sharat Fhall%
e !elieves $roje't Shakti, i)Shakti and Shakti Eani will have the potential to a't as a
'atalyst for 'reating new markets and generating rural mi'ro)e'onomies%
e re'ogni2es this is something that industan *ever 'annot a'hieve alone and is
a'tively !uilding links with non)'ompetitive partners, su'h as "C"C" 0ank, whi'h
spe'iali2es in mi'ro)loans% #t the same time, 'ompetitors and 'ompanies from other
se'tors are wat'hing $roje't Shakti very 'losely and are e3pe'ted to develop similar
distri!ution models%
$roje't Shakti(s goal is to re'ruit 100,000 Shakti entrepreneurs 'overing >00,000 villages
and >00 million 'onsumers !y /00G% +" !elieve it 'an !e'ome the !iggest rural operation
in the history of "ndian !usiness and 'hange the way 'ompanies look at rea'hing
'onsumers living in the smallest of villages,, says Sharat Fhall%
&or the thousands of women like Rojamma who have !e'ome Shakti entrepreneurs, this
initiative has already 'hanged their lives in ways that are mu'h more profound than the
in'ome they earn selling soaps and shampoos% "t has !rought them self)esteem, a sense of
empowerment and a pla'e in so'iety%
# Rojamma says: +Chen my hus!and left me " had nothing e3'ept my daughters% .oday
everyone knows me% " am someone now,% "t has also meant she has !een a!le to send her
daughters to s'hool, giving them the 'han'e in life she didn(t have, although Rojamma(s
aspirations for them remain modest: +" hope they have happy marriages and they too
!e'ome Shakti Ammas,%