Featured Energy Grant: SEWA
entrepreneurs making incense rollers.
Giving Women Entrepreneurs the Support to Launch Their Own Businesses
The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) has been working to protect the rights of women workers in Ahmedabad, India since incorporating as a trade union in 1972. With over 100 cooperatives addressing the needs of poor, self-employed women workers, SEWA members have promoted a bank of their own "SEWA Bank" to provide its members with affordable micro financial services. SEWA has also established "Mahila (Woman) Housing SEWA Trust (MHT)" to help poor women access housing and improve infrastructure in their region to create a better life.
Foundation funding is being used to help MHT and SEWA Bank support and adapt a number of alternative energy technologies; create an Innovation Center in Gujarat state with help of other technology partners to create technologies that address the needs of the poor; and market the technologies and training women entrepreneurs to launch their own enterprises that sell the innovations. Additionally, the Foundation and SEWA Bank have established a revolving loan fund to provide low-interest loans to local manufacturers, micro-entrepreneurs and technology end-users.
Read more: Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT)
Read more: SEWA Bank
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