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Category: Sustainable Livelihoods

The Need for Partnership: Empowering Women-led Businesses through Collaboration

 

In this series, we delve on the key lessons from the Samhita -Collective Good Foundation (Samhita-CGF) and Microsoft Project on how to empower women entrepreneurs through digital financial literacy and build a stronger framework for the second iteration.

 

Women Entrepreneurship: The Indian Landscape

The COVID-19 pandemic had long-lasting devastating effects on the Indian economy, especially when more than 75% of small-scale livelihood families, who were into jobs like farming, construction and owned shops/stalls lost their ability to earn their daily wage income. But it also inevitably encouraged a new wave of women entrepreneurship, as the women, who were traditionally homemakers, realised that they could utilise their basic skills to make masks and other products and generate money, and decided to take on the mantle to run their households for the sake of survival through those tough times.

This wave of change quickly transformed women entrepreneurship into a fast-growing sector, and as of 2022, there are more than 13.5 million women-led enterprises in India. But they still attribute to only 20% of the total entrepreneurship in India. There is much more that needs to be done, and that can happen with the help of digital and financial inclusion. Financial inclusion can be considered the basis for enhancing the economic growth and empowerment of a particular country, and is a core need when thinking of establishing any entrepreneurship. This is even more imperative for women, as they lack the financial independence that is naturally granted to men in a patriarchal society. This is in different forms as outlined below:

BARRIERS TO ENTRY

  1. Socioeconomic and Cultural Barriers: There are many women who still end up handling a second shift model, where they are expected to handle both their businesses and homes simultaneously. 63% of women prefer to work from home for the same reason. This restricts their ability to expand their businesses, as they are not able to give in more time to establish it.
  2. Lack of Access to Funding: Women entrepreneurs usually tend to depend on immediate family, friends and relatives for financial support to start up and establish their business. Due to lack of financial literacy, many women do not even know how to be able to handle their own bank accounts. As a result, even as of 2022, even with 85% women who have bank accounts, there is a 37% gap in funding for women enterprises.
  3. Low level of awareness of government schemes: There are a variety of social security schemes provided by the Government of India like financial inclusion, insurance and direct benefit transfers (DBTs)which help to safeguard the future of Indian citizens, irrespective of gender, age, religion or class. However, a majority of women are not aware about them because it is not a topic that comes up in general discussions with other women.

All of these factors play a significant role in determining how women-led businesses are able to flourish in the Indian market.

EMPOWERING WOMEN

Financial and Digital Empowerment of Small Women-Led Businesses

In order to recognise the need to bridge the gap between women entrepreneurs and digital financial mechanisms, Microsoft decided to empower 5000 women through their pan-India scale-up project with Samhita-CGF. These interventions included:

  1. Provision of access to government schemes and services: The women entrepreneurs were made aware about the schemes provided by the Government of India, broadly covering financial inclusion, insurance and direct benefit transfers (DBTs). They were educated about eligibility criteria, and were provided with hand-holding support in procuring the scheme related documents, and the post-application process.
  2. Advanced entrepreneurship training: The women were trained on the MeraBills digital bookkeeping app, on topics like retaining a bank account, cash flow management and how to use the digital banking services. Additionally, they were taught financial planning. The entrepreneurs were also provided training the marketplaces to sell their products.
  3. Mentoring and capacity building to help other members with their existing skill sets: The entrepreneurs who were provided with the advanced training were also moulded to become mentors to the other women in the cohort.
  4. Enabling credit for their respective businesses: Samhita-CGF got in touch with the banks and non-banking financial companies to create a criterion for the beneficiaries to be connected to the right financial schemes that suit their business. The information included the process of loan disbursement, and how they can return the money in the signed period of time.

PARTNERSHIP FOR STRONGER IMPACT

One of the core reasons why partnerships like these are needed is because each firm has their own expertise, which can be utilised to help those that need it the most. For instance, Microsoft has access to the most innovative technological services available, while Samhita-CGF, through its REVIVE program has an understanding and expertise on financial inclusion. They also give businesses a chance to expand their particular customer base which makes it easier to reach out to more beneficiaries.

Stitching Her Business with Digital Empowerment: Meenakshi from Barmer

“Now I’m able to take money from my creditor and keep

monthly accounts of my deposits.”

 

Meenakshi, a 26-year-old resident of Barmer in Rajasthan has always had a strong desire to contribute to her family’s income through her tailoring business. However, managing the finances was a challenge for her, and she often had to depend on others for assistance. Her lack of familiarity with digital payments and bookkeeping made it difficult for her to transition to the new normal. Fortunately, through the REVIVE Project, Meenakshi was able to acquire the digital financial literacy skills needed to thrive.

Her story is a testament to the power of digital financial literacy in empowering women entrepreneurs. Here’s how she did it:

Meenakshi was introduced to the REVIVE Project through Pappu Kanwar, a master trainer from Barmer. She was taught how to operate the phone, use online banking, and send money using UPI. Additionally, Meenakshi was introduced to a digital bookkeeping app called MeraBills, which made it easy for her to keep track of her finances. In addition to reminders, financial reports, and budgeting, she no longer requires assistance with her finances and is independently operating her business.

Just like Meenakshi, there are several other women micro-entrepreneurs that are being connected to the digital world through skill building.

 

FINDINGS & WAY FORWARD/ ISSUES TO CONSIDER

Some of the considerations for the future could be as follows:

  • Enabling online training via mobile phone: Women who participate in such cohorts usually come from a low-income background, hence have to delve into multiple odd jobs in order to support their families’ livelihoods. Enabling online training will allow more women to be able to participate at their convenience, and hence gain digital and financial literacy skills.
  • Having a women-only training: This might prove to be effective in ensuring dissemination of learnings. Additionally, personalising the experience with one-on-one sessions, will help the women to develop more trust in the process and work harder on incorporating digital and financial literacy into their livelihoods.
  • Provision of data connectivity: Teaching skills is effective only when the women will be able to practise and use the MeraBills digital bookkeeping app in their shops and neighbourhoods too. Hence, the provision of adequate data connectivity in common service centres, panchayat buildings should also be included as part of the programmes.
  • Promoting more diverse learning: Curriculum content is better understood when it is supplemented with stories, videos and activity-based learning. The trainers can be equipped and encouraged to deliver their complex ideas in a simpler manner for the women to be able to better retain the information in the long-term.
  • Associating the women with unique identification to track their progress: Women in these cohorts usually use their family’s phone numbers to register and implement the program. Creating a unique id will help to identify them as individuals, and monitor their individual areas of improvement and growth.
  • Determining an effective pay-for performance process: On achieving a particular milestone, the women were paid ₹400 to encourage them. However, money can often be seen as charity and/or insufficient for the particular need. A change in amount and more clarity on the rationale to the beneficiaries will help to make the process more efficient.

The Samhita-CGF- Microsoft program has been instrumental in changing the lives of more than 5000 women entrepreneurs so far, and the second iteration will help to take this partnership forward to benefit many more women. It is inspiring to see stories of resilience like Meenakshi, and it is our hope that many such women are able to utilise the digital book-keeping and capacity building skills and tools to further advance their businesses and live a life of dignity.

 

This article was editorialised by Ayushi Bhatnagar and Tanvi Deshmukh

Against All Odds

“During these tough times  I was struggling, distressed and did not have any stable source of income. This is when the Returnable Grant came to my rescue.”

Fatima encountered many Pandemic induced ups and downs before she could conquer a state of being independent and having a reasonable growth in her business. She is a beauty entrepreneur based in Sangam Vihar of Delhi.

“People were scared to come to the parlour and instead started calling parlour services at home. And even when people started going out they were more comfortable taking parlour services at my home rather than visiting my parlour. And few who were coming to the parlour were getting their towels or band for their safety and hygiene,” says Fatima on the impact of COVID-19 on her business.  

Before the pandemic, she was also  conducting beauty training sessions and provided a 6-month training session with 2 hours of class every day and charge a fee of Rs 500 for each trainee. Everything was going on smoothly in her life until COVID-19 engulfed her in unexpected turmoil and havoc. She had to close her training centre because trainees stopped showing up for the sessions. As a result, a source of stable income began crippling. “Even if 4-5 children would take my session I could pay off my rent,” says Fatima. 

With reduced customers, the income started dangling and soon Fatima didn’t have enough to run her business. This is when she got in touch with Dhriiti, a social enterprise based in Delhi. It was here that she was provided a Returnable grant in the form of zero-interest loan with the intention of helping her to restart her lost business. 

Fatima used the money and training efficiently. She took advantage of this opportunity and started brushing up on her beautician skills through the training sessions conducted by Dhriiti. The returnable grant helped her reshape her business and also assisted her to venture into the business of cosmetics. “The process of procuring returnable grant was easy and comfortable as we had no such condition of providing a guarantor, no compulsion of visiting the bank, no fixed amount to pay back and zero-interest. There were no compulsions or boundations. This was of the best facility provided through returnable grant,” she adds.  

With the support that she received from Dhriiti, Fatima was able to take the first leap toward income stabalisation post pandemic. She opened a parlour near her home.  “My mentors at Dhriiti suggested that I open a beauty training centre as I was good at providing training and I had previously trained many young students,” recalls Fatima. “It’s a big parlour compared to my previous one, which was quite small. The previous one had no cosmetic business and could accommodate only one chair with a small counter,” she adds.

The bigger facility not only provided her with enough space to run her parlour but also supported her with apt space to conduct her training sessions. “My spacious parlour has definitely helped me increase my business”, Fatima happily remarks.  

Even though Fatima received a small returnable grant amount, she says it was sufficient enough for her to kickstart her life and business. It gave her the confidence and strength to stand on her feet and took her on the road of being financially independent. Since she had repaid the entire amount, her credit score has helped her enter the formal system of banking, and increased her awareness of banking and loan schemes. Fatima desires to train as many young students as she can and take her parlour to great heights.
“The money that we received helped us in some way or another. The strength that ignited in us gave us the hope that we will be able to help and grow our business,” adds Fatima.

This story was editorialised by Avantika Seth

Driving Her Happiness

“It’s almost like this rickshaw is currently our caretaker. It’s the sole reason we’re able to survive.”

When the pandemic hit, Usha ben was making sense of the losses she had incurred by setting up a roadside chow mien stall. With the lockdown in place, she had to stall her business. Her only resort was to make her rickshaw run. But with everything going downhill, the rickshaw, too, couldn’t support her much. In the middle of the lockdown, its battery drained. As there was no money even to get basic food on the table, repairing the vehicle was out of the question.

“It was one of the most painful times of my life,” recalls Usha ben. However, a ray of hope showed up when she got in touch with SEWA Bharat and understood that the returnable grant of INR 20,000 could help her get the rickshaw’s battery repaired to enter the market once again. She first came to the SEWA Bharat centre to get her younger daughter’s ‘janampatri’ made, and that’s how she continued to remain in touch with the centre. After three-four years, she applied for an account in the bank with the help of SEWA and that’s when their journey began.

Since 1999, the SEWA Delhi microfinance program has enabled women to be financially included and independent. The aim is to ensure that members have access to savings and loans, particularly for working capital, and are prevented from exploitation by moneylenders.

“I was very disappointed as my work had stopped. I was facing severe issues, my income dropped and our ration was finishing. I approached Dolly didi from SEWA Bharat and she guided me through the process of procuring an interest-free loan. It helped me get the rickshaw battery changed and I was back on the road,” adds Usha ben.

Usha used to make electrical seals at her home before working as an e-rickshaw driver. For 1000 pieces she would get Rs 50 and in a day she could only make 220-250 seals in spite of working for more than 12 hours. Therefore, her elder brother suggested that she should drive an e-rickshaw. Usha has fond memories attached to the vehicle. Her elder brother not only went along with her for the purchase but also taught her how to drive.

UshaBen_Revive

“At the beginning, I was quite scared of how to drive the rickshaw and was so nervous thinking what if I hit someone or something.  My brother sat beside me and taught me how to drive.  I am very happy every time when the people of the centre are my passengers,” she tells.

Today, she earns anywhere between INR 700-800 per day and can provide for the education of her two young girls. “I take care of this rickshaw more than anything else in my life right now. I make sure it is always in good shape, I make sure I don’t park it randomly and so the chances of theft reduce, basically I make sure it is up and working -because this is the whole and sole of our lives right now,” she further adds.

In the Returnable grant program by Samhita, 202 women micro-entrepreneurs were aimed to be supported in Delhi. They are from Jahagirpuri, Sundarnagri, Gokulpuri, New Ashok Nagar and Raghubir Nagar areas of Delhi and are associated with SEWA Delhi Trust and Delhi credit cooperative. These women are from the backward communities and informal sector who have lost their livelihood during COVID-19. Mostly women micro-entrepreneurs involved in some trades i.e Home Based worker, Vendor, Domestic Worker, Self Employed. Like Usha ben, most of them have set up their small business such as selling garments, jewellery or tie&dye dupattas. The Grant has helped them scale their reach and led to a consistent source of income.

Usha ben received the Returnable Grant in the first cycle, September 2021. With the help of her rickshaw business, she will complete the repayment of the loan (INR 6000) by July 2022.

“After all being your own boss is the best, isn’t it? I can drive this rickshaw as much on as many days as I feel. When I’m sick, I can just let it park. No one’s going to ask me questions on that, no? It’s a great feeling,” she concludes.

This story was editorialised by Avantika Seth

Women At Work In New India

In India, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives and livelihoods of working women compared to working men. To understand the extent of this impact on women workers, Samhita-Collective Good Foundation(CGF), commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in India, undertook a study that analysed the pandemic experiences of thirty women workers and entrepreneurs across professions in India. The findings and recommendations of the study are presented in this report.

The research study adopted a qualitative approach and exploratory design. Furthermore, it looked at the challenges through an intersectional lens, since the pandemic has affected women differently based on their demographic, geographical and socio-economic backgrounds. While for some women, economic and social recovery has been relatively easier and faster, given their social location, networks, skill sets, nature of their trade, access to digital and other infrastructure, most women continue to struggle to bounce back.


Prior to the primary data collection conducted on field across the ten cohorts and five states the women belonged to, certain themes were identified from a secondary review of existing literature. Thereafter, several of these themes were corroborated through a thematic analysis of the narratives presented by thirty women participants.


Four major themes emerged from this research, which are listed as below:

  • Challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Social and systemic support availed during the crisis
  • Adaptation and transition in livelihood choices during the pandemic
  • Aspirations and ambitions of women workers


This research study advocates using the learnings and evidence from the women’s narratives to inform policy and programme design. With an intended target audience consisting of private sector, development funders and social purpose organizations, this research serves to be a call for action for commitments to support women in the workforce and in business value chains. In aligning its recommendations with the ILO’s Decent Work framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), as a way forward, this report also proposes collaborative models such as building large multi-stakeholder and multi-cause alliances to deliver at scale, innovate and integrate core competencies of all development stakeholders, to ensure continuous and sustained support for women to enter, sustain and grow in the workforce. In this report, as a way forward, Samhita-CGF proposes the ‘SACCI model’ – stakeholder Alliance Creation for Collaborative Impact, given the problem’s magnitude, complexity, and urgency. An Alliance will bring together different development stakeholders such as the government, private sector, institutional funders, development experts and social purpose organisations to plug in the gaps in the current system and actively promote and support women in the workforce.

Download Full Report

Samhita–CGF partners with AMHSSC to aid 50,000 women to create thriving livelihood pathways

The REVIVE Alliance was set up with the mission of creating economic opportunities for vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the Alliance’s mission, REVIVE Women@Work is to collectively drive economic recovery and resilience for low-income working women (small women-entrepreneurs and workers) through financial and digital inclusion, access to social security, skilling, and market linkages. Through these interventions, we aim to create sustainable and impactful livelihood opportunities for women to enter, sustain, and grow at their workplaces.

As part of this mission, we are happy to announce that Samhita – Collective Good Foundation (Samhita – CGF) has partnered with Apparel Made-Ups and Home Furnishings Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) to complement the Government of India’s skilling mandate and augment the journey of 50,000 women to grow beyond gainful employment and create thriving livelihood pathways.

“Economically empowered women can be powerful catalysts for change. They tend to invest more of their income into the well-being of their families, have greater control over their reproductive health, and can significantly drive economic growth. Samhita’s partnership with AMHSSC aims to serve as a model to increase meaningful participation of women in the workforce and enhance their journey through skill building, adoption of positive health practices, and eventually become an agent of change in her community”

Priya Naik, Founder & CEO, Samhita Social Ventures.

Through this partnership, Samhita – CGF will enable livelihood linkages of 50,000 women to manufacturing units of large corporate houses, and support AMHSSC in offering customised and relevant services across 4 key areas critical to thrive in the workforce:

  • Worker health & well-being education and services
  • Awareness and Protection from Violence and harassment in the workplace
  • Economic Empowerment and Professional development
  • Encouraging Entrepreneurship

 “In today’s world, one not only needs to be skilled in a Particular sector but must also be aware of his/her rights, especially for women to know their gender related rights. AMHSSC along with CGF is committed to provide such insights to the concerned stake holders, and support their journey into meaningful employment opportunities”

Dr Roopak Vasishtha, CEO, AMHSSC

Through Revive Women@Work, we envisage a better normal where more women are gainfully employed and acquire the necessary skills to take control of their own lives.

A coalition to create a Better Normal for India’s Working Women and Entrepreneurs

Women@Work is a coalition — of businesses, philanthropies, social organisations and other stakeholders — to drive economic recovery and resilience of low-income women workers and micro entrepreneurs, and enable them to grow and thrive. The goals of Women@Work are aligned to Samhita-CGF’s REVIVE Alliance, a $15 million blended finance platform, supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), Omidyar Network India, British High Commission New Delhi and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Alliance is dedicated to the revival, resilience and growth of India’s informal economy. It is also a part of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Enabling the Recovery, Resilience and Growth of Women Workers and Micro Entrepreneurs

By bridging the gender gap in the workforce and providing more income opportunities for women, India’s GDP can be increased by a whopping $2.9 trillion. There is ample evidence to prove that enabling the growth and productivity of women has a multiplier effect on the socio-economic outcomes of families, communities and economies. We have also witnessed the same through our work over the years.

The challenges to achieving this increase in female labour force participation are immense, especially due to the limitations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the gains have the potential to push India to the next stage of growth. 

This mission cannot be achieved by any one company or government or stakeholder group. REVIVE Women@Work is a call-to-action for a joint effort to spur the Recovery, Resilience and Growth of Women Workers and Micro Entrepreneurs.

How are we going to create a better normal for working women and microentrepreneurs?

With Women@Work, companies, foundations, social organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, through business and CSR channels, will:

To impact India’s women by facilitating their:


Range of Interventions

The Women@Work coalition will leverage technology to maximise opportunities for women at two levels:

  1. Creating a tracking system that will provide evidence on the value of the interventions for the beneficiary. This will enable better decision-making and evidence-backed program design.
  2. Creating a digital profile of the woman, to understand the social products and services required to create a continuum of support. This will enable us to maximise the support available through her life cycle.

Alignment with the REVIVE Alliance and U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment

We launched REVIVE to create a pathway to prosperity for the restoration of worker and micro entrepreneur livelihoods. Aspects of Women@Work are supported by the USAID-funded REVIVE Alliance, which launched in October 2020 to focus on economic recovery, predominantly for women and youth.

Women@Work is also a part of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, a public-private partnership between USAID, the U.S Department of State, USISPF, and George Washington University, launched by USAID Administrator Samantha Power in September 2021.

Join the mission to REVIVE Women@Work

For His Family’s Happiness

Daud Shaikh, who loves his family and constantly travels across State lines to spend time with them, recently realised how identity documents can add value to his life

In 2011, Daud Shaikh, then an 18-year-old farmer, migrated from his village in Jharkhand to Mumbai. He managed to find work as a construction worker in the city. Ten years on, Daud works as a mason at the Shapoorji Pallonji construction site in Powai, Mumbai. 

Prior to his marriage, he used to stay in the city for one-two years at a stretch. Now a father of three, he shuttles between his village and the city every three-four months despite his economic compulsions. “I usually stay at home for a month or so. I do this for my family’s happiness,” explained Daud. 

Daud’s constant movement across state lines necessitates specific central identity documents like the PAN and Aadhar card to be in place. For a construction worker, a PAN card acts as a vital KYC (Know Your Customer) document and serves as the basis for Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) from the government. It is also beneficial for processing other scheme applications.

As part of the REVIVE Alliance, the UNDP-funded information camp organised by Haqdarshak allowed him to recognise the value in having a PAN card. “I did not have a PAN card before. Other construction workers at my site had one, so I thought I should get one too,” said Daud. The REVIVE team helped facilitate Daud’s application.  

Additionally, the session also exposed Daud to the importance of an updated Aadhaar card, another critical document. His Aadhar card did not have a registered mobile number associated with it, which becomes necessary for any authentication service and serves as the basis for multiple government entitlements. 

The facilitators at the camp helped him with this as well. Even though a small change, an update in Aadhar details will lead to a significant value add for Daud in the future. With the two new linkages, Daud is better placed to access government benefits.

This story was editorialised by Raveena Joseph

The Dreams of an 18-Year-Old Migrant Worker

Ibrahim wants to earn more money, get a better job, and have a family, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made his goals harder to achieve.

Eldest of 8 siblings, Ibrahim moved from his hometown in Kathiya district in Bihar to Delhi, in February 2020. Fresh out of high school, he migrated to the big city hoping to earn money to supplement the income of his father, who works as a daily wager in Bihar. Soon after he managed to find a job as a construction worker at a site in Gurgaon, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and all construction activities were banned. Ibrahim, who was then barely 17, was thrown into unprecedented uncertainty. “We faced a lot of issues at that time. There was no work. Everything became costly. Food was an issue. After the lockdown, I lost work and had to go back home in a truck. It took me 6-7 days to reach home. I had no work or source of income for 3-4 months,” recounted Ibrahim. 


When he finally managed to return to his hometown, he realised that his situation was not unique. “People around me had similar experiences. My father also wasn’t called for work. Money was tight,” said Ibrahim. After 4 months, he finally returned to Haryana to resume work at the construction site. He typically works 8-hours a day doing hard labour, but worries if working this job and hoping the situation will improve is enough. “I want to earn more money, get a better job, get married and have a family. But I’m the only earning member in my family now, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to achieve these goals,” said Ibrahim. 

Even though he had been working for over a year, Ibrahim didn’t have a bank account. He had heard about the government’s Jan Dhan Yojana but had no idea how to go about opening an account under the scheme. In February 2021, when a social protection scheme linkages camp for construction workers was conducted by the REVIVE Alliance, he understood the details of the scheme for the first time and realised the value of a zero-balance account. 

“The documentation process was easy. I got a PAN card and Jan Dhan account. I think this will be very beneficial in the long-run — I keep money in the bank account and can use the PAN card to get my KYC (Know Your Customer) done,” said Ibrahim, who is glad to have his salary now credited to his bank account directly.

With the support of REVIVE, Ibrahim is now part of the formal banking system. This will ensure he has access to financial services, and timely, adequate and low-cost credit when required. It will also contribute to helping this 18-year-old work towards his goals with greater support and resilience.

This story was editorialised by Raveena Joseph

Creating a PAN Card Creates Value For Us

Sudam Kumar, who recently received his PAN card, is looking forward to the benefits and support the identity document will provide construction workers like himself

Sudam Kumar, who used to be a farmer in Bihar, decided to leave his hometown with his family when he turned 18, so that he could find a better livelihood in the big city. He arrived in Noida in 2014 as a migrant worker, and eventually found work in the construction industry. When the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced in 2020, Sudam’s family moved back to their village. He stayed back in Uttar Pradesh to earn a livelihood and support the education of his son, who is continuing his schooling in Bihar.

As a construction worker working at an ATS Infrastructure Limited site, Sudam was missing a labour card that validated his employment in the construction industry for four years. A Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) card becomes a worker’s entry point to a multitude of government schemes that s/he could benefit from.

In early February 2021, the REVIVE Alliance team visited the ATS site where Sudam worked in Noida to facilitate social protection scheme linkages for construction workers. Sudam chose to apply not just for a labour card, but also a PAN card. “I realised that creating a PAN card creates value for us,” said Sudam.

Interactions with the REVIVE team contributed to his choice. Reflecting on those conversations, he said, “I realised that if I ever change my workplace, this form of identity documentation would be very helpful.” A PAN card, for a construction worker, acts as a critical KYC (Know Your Customer) document and serves as the basis for Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) from the government. It is also very useful for processing other scheme applications.

“I’m so glad the REVIVE and ATS team took the effort to nudge me and my co-workers to apply for these documents. They will aid our development in the long-run,” says Sudam. He is one among countless migrant construction workers across the country — unlike Sudam, most of them are yet to gain access to basic identity documents. The REVIVE Alliance strives to bridge this gap through its holistic intervention tools for livelihood recovery.

This story was editorialised by Raveena Joseph

All For Her Daughter

Sonu Kumari, a single mother who works as a construction worker in Uttar Pradesh, discovered that understanding her government scheme entitlements will open up a world of opportunities

When Sonu Kumari’s marriage ended, she realized that she had to support herself and her daughter. She had never participated in market activities earlier and as a housewife, had only been engaged in unpaid domestic work. As a 27-year-old single mother and migrant living in Noida, she knew very little about the work ecosystem and opportunities available. She joined ATS Infrastructure Limited as a construction worker with the hope of earning enough to support herself and her daughter, who lived away from her, in their home village.

Every day, Sonu would spend eight hours at a developer site, engaged in brick-laying and other construction work. At the end of each work day, she would plan her finances to ensure that she was earning enough to support her daughter.

A resilient and hard-working single mother, Sonu won the respect of her peers over time. After five years working at the construction site, she was given supervisory responsibilities as well. But, Kumari lacked what is an integral necessity for every construction worker in India — a labour card.

“I didn’t know there were benefits to enrolling for a Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) card,” said Kumari, highlighting the information gaps on entitlements that exist among workers despite years of working within the infrastructure ecosystem. But why does this gap exist? “Ever since I started working in construction, I’ve noticed that people don’t even spare 10 minutes to talk,” she explained.

In February 2021, when the REVIVE Alliance team visited ATS to set up a social protection scheme linkage camp, they facilitated Sonu’s application for a BOCW card. “It was easy and quick to submit my application with the help of the ATS support staff. I feel like I know so much more about the government schemes I can avail now,” said Sonu.

Sonu is now formally registered as a construction worker in Uttar Pradesh. Due to the disruptions of the second wave that compounded her livelihood stressors, Sonu is still worried about how to make ends meet. Yet, she is so grateful to have gained access to multiple schemes through the BOCW card, which can help her support her daughter in the way she has always hoped. “I now understand that I am eligible for multiple schemes like medical claims and education support, and I want to use that to build a life for my daughter.”

This story was editorialised by Raveena Joseph

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