Advancing Women’s Entrepreneurship (AWE)

About Advancing Women Entrepreneurship (AWE):

 

We believe that enabling women economically is not only a critical path to eradicating poverty, but also to achieving gender equality and sustainable development. Our AWE vertical invests in women’s transformative journey towards breaking barriers and challenging biases to reach their full potential. We use Grameen’s AWE Framework to design and deliver strategic interventions and define the outcomes to address the multifaceted gender barriers faced by women engaged in economic activities, especially in enterprises. 

How We Work: Advancing Women Entrepreneurship (AWE)

Our approach is centered on empowering women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and achieve sustainable growth. We work by:

1. Family Engagement: Household dialogues and intra household discussions ensure that all members of a household (especially men) encourage women to have agency, decision making, and the time, ability to engage in an economic activity to earn income and grow.
2. Capacity Building: We provide comprehensive training and support to enhance the business management skills of women entrepreneurs. This includes areas such as sales, marketing, financial performance, customer engagement, and digital strategy, ensuring they are well-equipped to lead and grow their enterprises..
3. Access to Financing: We facilitate connections to debt financing mechanisms, providing these women with the necessary financial tools and resources to fuel the expansion of their businesses. Our focus is on making them investment-ready, enabling them to access credit and other financial services to support their growth.
4. Ongoing Support: We offer continuous mentorship and guidance, helping women navigate the challenges of business growth and ensuring they remain on track toward their long-term goals.

Through these efforts, AWE aims to create a thriving ecosystem of women-led small businesses that contribute to economic development and gender equity.

PARTNERSHIPS WE LEVERAGE TO STRENGTHEN OUR PROGRAMS UNDER AWE:

Under AWE (Advancing Women’s Entrepreneurship), we have established strong partnerships that are central to the success of our programs:

1. Institutional Partnerships: Collaborate with sector-specific institutions for specialized training.
2. Government Partnerships: Engage with government bodies to leverage schemes, formalize businesses and secure licenses.
3. Financial Partnerships: Streamline debt financing through partnerships with banks, microfinance institutions and financial service providers.
4. Marketing Partnerships: Collaborate with branding experts and marketing agencies to enhance product branding and packaging.
5. E-commerce Platforms: Partner with e-commerce platforms to expand market access and sales potential.
6. Entrepreneurship Support Organizations: Collaborate with entrepreneurship-focussed organizations (specifically women led organizations), for shared learning and resource exchange.
7. Technical Partnerships: Collaborate with experts and organizations providing technical support and sector-specific knowledge.

These partnerships have collectively contributed to a comprehensive support system that addresses various aspects of entrepreneurship, from training and financing to marketing and distribution, ensuring the success and sustainability of the businesses we work with.

OUR REACH:  1000 entrepreneurs working with us across the programs, with an outreach of over 1 lakh customers. Additionally, we are supporting over 200 school going adolescents girls for education and career development.

Key Programs Under AWE:

Investment Readiness & Digital Transformation of Women-Led Small Businesses (IRDT-WSB):

This project aims to support interventions to enhance the growth of women-owned businesses by promoting investment readiness and digital transformation of early-stage women-owned small businesses. This project supports the growth of 300 women-owned small businesses in Delhi NCR; and provides training, mentoring and capacity building to ensure women entrepreneurs succeed in the MSME ecosystem. 

Category	Women Entrepreneurship
Geography	National Capital Region Delhi
Objectives	Investment Readiness: Equip women entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and strategies to become investment-ready, ensuring they can attract and secure funding for their ventures.  Capacity Building: Enhance business management skills in areas such as sales, marketing, customer engagement, financial performance, digital strategy, and business optimization, empowering these women to lead their businesses toward sustainable growth.  Access to Financing: Facilitate access to debt financing mechanisms and tools, promoting the expansion and growth of these women-owned businesses and supporting their transition from early-stage enterprises to scalable, sustainable ventures.
Achievements	The program reached approximately 5400 women owned businesses through various outreach methods, with 1500 businesses engaged and 330 successfully onboarded. Active engagement includes 200 businesses, with targeted touchpoints for specific needs. Three urban entrepreneurship centers set up to promote business formalization, market expansion, and financial linkages 300 Women Onboarded: Successfully onboarded 300 women entrepreneurs, with over 150 businesses formalized. Market Linkages: Connected businesses to e-commerce platforms like ONDC and Amazon Saheli. Digital Footprint: Established digital presence through social media platforms for sales and marketing. Government Scheme Support: Assisted in accessing government schemes and filing loan applications. Financial Services: Provided free financial services, including ITR filing and financial statements preparation. Business Plan Development: Created comprehensive business plans tailored to various sectors, addressing unique challenges. Process Optimization: Streamlined processes by segregating businesses based on documentation readiness and business size, facilitating smoother operations.

Women as Agents of Change & Economic Empowerment:

The Women as Agents of Change & Economic Empowerment (W-ACE) provides essential financial education and services to 150,000 community members, fostering local self-employment opportunities and enhancing economic prospects within their communities.

Category	Women Entrepreneurship
Geography	Districts of Gondia and Chandrapur in Maharashtra
Objectives	Livelihood Opportunities: Equip 650 women with skills and opportunities to become Grameen Mittras, promoting financial inclusion and economic empowerment. Business Linkages: Provide products, technology platforms, infrastructure, and technical support to Grameen Mittras for effective service delivery. Community Support: Improve financial education and access to services for over 150,000 community members, enhancing resilience. Gender Norms: Address and shift gender norms through targeted dialogues, empowering women in decision-making at home and in their businesses.
Achievements	Onboarded the complete 650 Women Entrepreneurs(Grameen Mitras), and trained them on financial literacy, the usage of app for conducting the financial and non- financial transactions. The project has been able to build rapport and connection with local stakeholders and community influencers e.g. Asha worker/ Anganwadi Sevika/ CRP /Gram Panchayat members/MSRLM cadres, etc 89,000 customers supported so far in the project Increased the product bouquet by the introduction of offline products of Sanitary Pad, Phenyl, detergent powder and liquid The average income our Grameen Mittras has come to a level of 750 Rs with over 400 GMs transacting every month

Lakshyavati:

Lakshyavati is a project focused on enabling  underprivileged girls (7th-12th standard) from underserved districts in Maharashtra to improve their educational attainment and reduce school dropout rates. 

Category	Education
Geography	Districts of Nagpur and Bhandara in Maharashtra
Objectives & Outcomes	Financial Independence: Helped 200 girls open bank accounts to ensure they have the financial infrastructure to receive support. Financial Support: Provided a fixed monthly bursary directly to the girls’ bank accounts for consistent financial aid. Mentoring and Empowerment: Offered individual mentoring and empowerment workshops to help girls explore their aspirations and potential. Family Engagement: Conducted home visits to engage with girls and their parents, understanding their needs and guiding them accordingly. Health and Adolescent Issues: Addressed hygiene, mental wellbeing, and other adolescent issues through expert-led sessions. Reduce Dropout Rate: Aimed to reduce dropout rates and increase continued education by providing informed choices and support.
Achievements	200 girls enrolled with bank accounts opened for all, leading to greater financial literacy and freedom. Workshops conducted on diverse topics such as women’s entrepreneurship, health, menstruation hygiene, and the   transformative power of education All girls who appeared for class 12th and class 10th board examinations have passed with good marks this academic year. Regular Bursary payment to all the girls per month to support their education The program was able to reduce the dropout rate with only 4 girls going out of the program and that too for the reason of migration to a different geography,

Collaborate and Partner with Us

Join us in empowering women entrepreneurs through the Advancing Women Entrepreneurship (AWE) program. We focus on driving sustainable growth by equipping women-led small businesses with the skills, resources, and support they need to thrive.

Despite socio-cultural barriers that limit mobility, decision-making, and access to capital, women’s entrepreneurial aspirations remain strong. Through targeted training, mentoring, and financial inclusion, we address these challenges and help women turn their businesses into engines of economic change.

Partner with AWE today and be part of a movement transforming women’s entrepreneurship for a brighter future.

CONTACT 

info@grameenfoundation.in 

Visit: www.gfsi.in or www.grameenfoundation.in