E-commerce in India has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. Many women in tier 2 and 3 cities have begun to adapt and reap the benefits of selling online. The worst hit is women business owners in inner cities and rural areas who also must fight societal gender barriers. It is critical to break the bias and empower women through focused education and training interventions about business and technology.
Mastercard shared the top three ways how technology adoption can help women entrepreneurs to succeed—(1) Making businesses more efficient – Initiatives such as Project Kirana by Mastercard and USAID leverages a tech-and-touch training methodology, engaging kiranas with peer-learning groups, video-based content, and in-person training to help women-owned kirana stores increase revenue streams and adopt digital payments. (2) Enabling credit access – Embracing digital payments empowers one to tap into formal lines of credit and enables women-owned businesses to grow and expand. The $100 million credit facility launched by HDFC, Mastercard, USAID, and DFC in India extends working capital loans to small businesses. (3) Improving reach and customer experience – Online marketplaces can help women entrepreneurs ship their products to customers across the world. Social media is another powerful tool for businesses to create awareness about their products to a much wider customer base.
