Home Credit India, in partnership with SEWA Bharat, has launched a livelihood project for nano entrepreneurs. Nano entrepreneurs refer to individuals who start their ventures with very little capital. The project aims to help the nano-entrepreneurs who are unable to resume work due to loss of capital.
The project is in line with government’s agenda of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local aims to equip and empower over 500 artisans from Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. These nano entrepreneurs come from marginalized backgrounds and work as artisans, rural weavers, shoemakers; Papad makers, lac product makers, Tie and Dye producers, garment and embellishment manufacturers, necklaces, rakhis, food products.
Throughout the activity, these women will be reskilled and trained to reach the markets or acquire the means and ways of selling which will largely be digital.
Commenting on the partnership with SEWA Bharat, Ms. Nidhi Malik, Vice President, CSR, and Communications, Home Credit India said, ‘Responsible lending is the cornerstone of our business at Home Credit. Over the years we have been actively imparting Financial and Digital literacy to educate our customers and society on the basics of financial management, budgeting, investing, saving money, etc. With this partnership, our endeavor is to widen financial outreach and create opportunities to make more and more individuals ‘Self-Reliant.
Commenting on the partnership with Home Credit India, Ms. Sanchita Mitra, National Coordinator, SEWA Bharat, said, “The COVID-19 lockdown has negatively affected the livelihoods of many mostly invisible poor people. SEWA works in many States namely Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Within the SEWA membership, large numbers of informal sector workers are part of the global supply chain either as nano entrepreneurs or linked with local informal contractors or middlemen for work.
She further added, “We are incredibly happy to announce that SEWA Bharat has partnered with Home Credit to support 500 artisans & weavers with raw materials and product development at a time of extreme need.