Neel AcharyMumbai, Dec 22: Women across smaller towns and villages are now rewriting the growth story of India. The women, who were once confined to household chores are today emerging as critical enablers of digital and financial services for their communities. Maharashtra tops the list with 22.69 lakh women achieving Lakhpati Didis, providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to women. Accelerating this progress in the state, India’s leading branchless banking and digital network PayNearby, has set an aim to onboard 50,000 rural women entrepreneurs from Maharashtra over the next 6 months with new income opportunities, as part of its Digital Naari program.
The program aligns seamlessly with national programmes like the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative, which aims to empower women to earn over INR 1 lakh annually and become economic leaders at the grassroots. A long term self-sustaining, social impact initiative, PayNearby is creating a socio-economic impact through its Digital Naari program. Each Digital Naari, or “banker didi,” operates from home or runs her own store offering services such as banking, payments, insurance, credit, mutual funds, and more. Every transaction they facilitate earns them a commission, creating a steady income stream. This entrepreneurial model not only ensures long-term financial independence for the women but also guarantees that essential services remain consistently available to their communities without being reliant on periodic CSR funds.
One such case is of Durga Naktode, a 35-year-old woman from Bagalbandh, a small village in Maharashtra’s Gondia district who signed up to become a PayNearby’s Digital Naari. From homemaker to a community influencer, today Durga provides essential banking services like cash withdrawals, money transfers, mobile recharges, bill payments and more in her village. These services that earlier required villagers to travel 12 kilometers to the nearest financial institution, are now able to access these services with ease. She supports over 200 families and manages transactions worth over INR 5 lakh every month. Along with banking, she also spreads awareness about health and hygiene and promotes menstrual hygiene by selling sanitary pads.
Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO PayNearby & Program Director, Digital Naari said;
“The Digital Naari model is built for independence from the outset. The model scales because it is phygital and demand-driven: women deliver essential, everyday services that households need year-round, ensuring steady footfall and repeat transactions. Collectively, Digital Naaris associated with the platform facilitate over INR 10,000 crore in annual transactions, with over 60% first-time entrepreneurs earning on average INR 3,500INR 5,000 per month, showcasing the financial viability of the model at the last mile.”
Over the next three years, PayNearby aims to enable self-employment for at least 1 million women across India, equipping them with the tools, services, and training needed for sustainable income generation. Through this, it envisions to reach over 100 million households, providing them easy access to financial, digital, and social services through this robust, women-led network.
