The Mission Shakti Living Lab in Odisha, India

The Mission Shakti Living Lab, developed in partnership with Mission Shakti, aims to accelerate women’s economic empowerment by working directly with women self-help groups through income-generation activities and skill-building.

Leveraging the power of digital and markets, the Living Lab aims to address the barriers that a majority of women face that impede their autonomy and financial freedom. Barriers such as limited access and use of digital technologies, limited access to high quality and affordable financial solutions, and social norms that limit their role outside the household.

The focus of the Living Lab is to increase women’s agency and economic wellbeing and improve their participation in supply chains, while seeking to level the playing field more broadly.

Today, we have a real opportunity to use new digital technologies and infrastructure to enhance women’s financial security and financial freedom in order to move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We realize that including people in the financial system is about much more than having a bank account. It is about creating opportunities to help communities—especially historically marginalised populations—build financially healthy lives and actively participate in today’s connected economy.

The Mission Shakti Living Lab developed in partnership with Mission Shakti and UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) under its Centre for Financial Health aims to accelerate women’s economic empowerment by working directly with women self-help groups through income-generation activities and skill-building.

Leveraging the power of digital and markets, the Lab aims to address the barriers that a majority of women face that impede their autonomy and financial freedom. Barriers such as limited access and use of digital technologies, limited access to high quality and affordable financial solutions, and social norms that limit their role outside the household.

The focus of the Lab is to increase women’s agency and economic well-being, and improve their participation in supply chains while seeking to level the playing field more broadly.