socialsaheli.com is a one of its kind platform which trains women from self-help groups in mobile storytelling and digital skills so that they are able to tell their stories, gain financial independence and build their business online using their mobile phones.
Powered by People Like Us Create (Pluc) and over 115 women from self-help groups in Uttar Pradesh, stories on socialsaheli.com have reached out to more than 30 million people in just 5 months. These include first-time entrepreneurs, seasoned SHG leaders, single mothers, sports players, home chefs and handloom workers among others. Let’s hear their stories and the challenges they overcame to build their businesses.
From Kanchan who learned to make products secretly in a torchlight to Meenakshi who has enabled other women in self-help groups to start up, India’s rural women entrepreneurs come with stories of grit, perseverance, and the determination to run a successful business. Starting a business in smaller towns in India comes with its own set of challenges but Social Sahelis from Uttar Pradesh are overcoming them. These women entrepreneurs are on the path to become entrepreneurs using their mobile phones to tell stories and take their businesses online.
The UP government’s efforts to enable women of self-help groups have motivated more entrepreneurs to come forward. Releasing over Rs 445 crore to more than 97,600 SHGs under State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM), the state has seen a rapid rise in self-reliance of women. socialsaheli.com is supporting this trend by helping women amplify their locally-made products using digital mediums.
It all starts with training women from local SHG communities. The module covers mobile storytelling, digital literacy and social media. These training also include fact-checking, consent-seeking and online safety. The Social Saheli champions are supported by mentors. With an added layer of marketing support, a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem is created that supports women not just as producers of a product, but full grown entrepreneurs and digital influencers. Today, these Sahelis have found a platform to share their ideas freely and find business solutions to expand their viability in the market through the community’s network.
Let us know more about two social Sahelis :
Gayatri Chandrawar
The journey of Gayatri Chandrawar from Gorakhpur wasn’t an easy one. Hailing from a semi-urban locality in the city, Gayatri found herself struggling with the patriarchal boundaries of her household. But a business idea kept brewing in the back of her mind, one that would involve empowering several other women like her. Many people warned her against starting the Geeta self-help group amidst the pandemic but she was on the way to become an entrepreneur. Powered by her own sewing centre where she taught sewing and stitching to women and young girls, Gayatri began investing in training and upskilling her tribe. Her group makes several items ranging from cushion covers, macrame decorative items, dresses, bedsheets and more. Today, her self-help group has undergone storytelling training and is keen on using social media to spread the word about their products. Gayatri wishes to empower many other women to become financially stable and sustain their families and themselves.
“We are very happy that we joined a community like Social Saheli. Through socialsaheli.com we have learned new skills and are now getting more women from our network associated with this platform so that all of us can take our products to newer audiences and sell them online.” – Gayatri Chandrawar, Social Saheli from Gorakhpur, India
Vibha Vinod
Difficult circumstances led Vibha Vinod to fend for her child alone. To find a source of income was her first goal. She landed in a self-help group training and thus began her story of finding employment opportunities.
Her perseverance led her to join an SHG and also open doors for more women along the way. Vibha has previously helped women to open bank accounts (Jan Dhan accounts), getting Aadhar Cards for rural women and also facilitated establishing toilets in the local villages.
Today, she is a samooh sakhi at the Lead India Mahila Self-help group. Her primary focus shifted from smaller products to making masks at a large scale when the coronavirus pandemic hit India. Her journey of financial independence and inclusion has given inspiration to hundreds of women to start their own businesses through self-help groups. With Social Saheli she has learned the skills of mobile storytelling and social media to tell her story and take her products beyond her existing community.
“I am a Social Saheli Champion. I have never excelled anywhere but here, I got a chance to shine and I am now paving the path for more women like me. I attend mentor sessions and online trainings to learn how to grow my business. I want to enable each and every woman in my village. If I can become an entrepreneur, so can they.” – Vibha Vinod, Social Saheli from Lucknow. India
Social Saheli Initiative:
Entrepreneurs like Gayatri and Vibha in UP are learning to use digital media as part of the Social Saheli initiative, a project run by People Like Us Create (Pluc) – India’s largest tech-based mobile storytelling platform run by creative professionals – which trains women from SHG in mobile storytelling and digital skills so that they are able to tell their stories, become financially independent and build their business online.
The mentors of the project are Ankita Awasthi, Aparna Mishra, Kareshma, Runjhun Noopur and Shikha Shah. These women have experience working in the area of business and marketing. They have a teaching module which covers storytelling techniques, digital literacy and social media. The training also includes fact-checking, consent-seeking and online safety.
With India stressing on #VocalForLocal, SHGs have a huge opportunity to market their products to consumers looking for existing options. The sahelis make products ranging from pickles, spices, bags, clothes, handicraft items, gifting items, dairy products, skin care, beauty products and more.
With a pilot set in the state of Uttar Pradesh, socialsaheli.com has been working with SHG groups across Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and more districts.
– Team WS
