Flipkart Foundation Partners with Deepalaya to Launch ‘Nari Shakti’ Programme

The Flipkart Foundation, under the Flipkart Group, has partnered with Deepalaya, a leading NGO supporting underprivileged women, youth, and children, to launch Nari Shakti, an innovative programme that aims to empower girls and women from marginalized communities. The primary objective of this initiative is to train over 600 young girls and women with essential vocational skills that will help foster the seed for being financially self-dependent among these girls and encourage them to establish micro-enterprises, thereby paving the way for sustainable livelihoods. The project will be executed over a span of 12 months in two centers - Tavru district in Haryana and Titron in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The Nari Shakti programme addresses impediments such as low literacy rates and limited income-generation opportunities for women from economically and socially disadvantaged communities. The program will provide training to women above 18 years of age who reside in the targeted geographic areas. The training will be imparted in two batches for the courses, additionally incorporating skill and capacity building on entrepreneurship, health, and nutrition as part of the curriculum.

Door-to-door surveys will be conducted to identify potential candidates, along with ample awareness generation activities to spread the word about the project. Additionally, to improve programme sustainability, one-on-one counseling sessions will be held with the families of shortlisted participants to ensure that they are optimally inferring the objective of the initiative.

The module has been crafted to encompass a comprehensive range of theoretical and practical knowledge, laying particular emphasis on inculcating entrepreneurial training besides facilitating awareness about nutrition, soft skills and life skills. Along with teaching tools and learning materials, regular assessments and practical exposure will be provided to ensure alignment with training outcomes. Subsequently, baseline community mobilization and impact assessments will be conducted to help monitor the group's progress and analyze students' development.

Commenting on the partnership, Puja Trisal, Director, Flipkart Foundation, said, "Our unwavering commitment to empowering communities through education and skill development is reflected through this partnership with Deepalaya. This initiative is a crucial step towards providing girls and women with marginalized resources meaningful opportunities that enhance their livelihoods. We are thrilled to be a part of this effort and are eager to witness the transformative impact it will have on the beneficiaries and society at large."

Dr. George John, Chief Executive, Deepalaya, commented, “Since 1998, Deepalaya has made a significant impact by establishing 1,616 self-help groups, benefiting 17,892 women and creating over 8,431 micro-enterprises. Our ‘Nari Shakti Project’ is designed to help women achieve their dreams of self-reliance by providing training and resources to start their own small businesses. By promoting women's empowerment, we can create a better and brighter future for everyone. We are thankful to the Flipkart Foundation and Give India for sharing the vision with us.”

The entrepreneurial training provided to the beneficiaries will enable them to identify job opportunities and contribute to their family income, thus creating a ripple effect for future generations. These efforts will further contribute towards elevating the position of women from disadvantaged groups, both socially and economically.

In the past year, Flipkart Foundation has worked with underserved communities across  Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal to serve, support, and empower unskilled and underprivileged sections of society in various sectors, to ensure maximum reach and sustainable impact.