DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN THE DIRECTION OF ATMANIRBHARTA- A CASE OF KAROLIA VILLAGE

Abstract

The impact of any global crisis is rarely ever gender neutral, and Covid-19 is not an exception. Countless women across diverse geographies have experienced an increase in their domestic workload, alongside the shrinking or complete loss of their livelihoods. While the entire world is facing unprecedented challenges, women are largely bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of Covid-19. Women from marginalized communities, employed in the informal sector in semi-urban and rural areas, are especially susceptible to loss of avenues of income, and added hours of unpaid labour with day-care and schools shutting down. The scenario in India is no different. Here, the struggle for women employed in the informal sector, or in running small business enterprises is even more pronounced. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, unemployment levels in the country have moved into double digits. In fact, recent study under the UdyamStree campaign had 57 percent of women entrepreneurs cite a deterioration in their business enterprises during the pandemic owing to factors like diminishing customer base, loss of supply chains and avenues of funding shutting down. In the face of such adversity, the key to survival lies in the quick adoption of new business models that cater to what has now become the ‘new normal’. Business models that were primarily dependent on offline production or delivery models, experienced a far greater decline than those reliant on digital channels. Digital technology can act as the game changer for women entrepreneurs, particularly in rural areas. It can make a greater impact in the lives of women who run different kinds of micro small and medium businesses in rural and semi-urban areas. The penetration of mobile phones in rural areas could be leveraged wisely to bring these women closer to the stakeholders in their business ecosystems. The women in Karolia are skilled and have initiated their business several times but the initiative is not sustainable due their inability to get finance registrar their business and get business digitally. Thus, a project was to train women entrepreneur on digital literacy. 15 rural women undergone the training. They have learnt all the key principles of online platforms. Women were able to share their experiences and were amazed to realise their constant practices after their session. The evaluation was done by questionnaire method in which it covered all the content from start. The group at the end has been digitally active to do their business and has started managing their business digitally.