L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF), a prominent Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), has already empowered over 42 lakh community members through the ‘Digital Sakhi’ programme, an important effort for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The programme, which began in 2017, has steadily grown its geographical impact throughout seven states: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, and Kerala, with a cadre of 1,370 trained Digital Sakhis over the years. The program’s goal is to raise awareness about digital and financial literacy among rural populations.
Speaking about the progress of the Digital Sakhi program, Apurva Rathod, Company Secretary & Chief Sustainability Officer at LTF said, “Our Digital Sakhis have played an active role in bridging the last mile gap and facilitating convergence of government schemes, conducting sessions in Gram Sabhas and the State Rural Livelihood Mission programs and supporting the community to obtain the benefits of government schemes. The efforts of Digital Sakhis have been instrumental in bringing the larger community into the ambit of entitlements. Our Digital Sakhi project has continued to invigorate the women empowerment narrative with many women rising up the ranks, from the confines of their homes to being change agents in their community. In FY24, our Digital Sakhis have effectively helped empower over 11 lakh rural communities by promoting digital financial inclusion, providing impetus to 2,400 women entrepreneurs.”
LTF’s flagship programme, Digital Sakhi, provides rural women with the skills and knowledge they need to confidently deliver Digital and Financial Literacy (DFL) training to households in their communities while nurturing an ecosystem of digital financial transactions. The programme focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – Gender Equality, in which women from rural communities are chosen and thoroughly trained in DFL, leadership, and technology. These women are known as “Digital Sakhis”. Each Sakhi is outfitted with a mobile tablet with preloaded DFL modules. The programme also supports female entrepreneurs in the community by providing them with upskilling and enterprise development training to help them build their enterprises and improve their livelihoods.
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In FY 2023-24, LTF successfully appointed 400 Sakhis in the new geographies of Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur), Bihar (Supaul), Tamil Nadu (Madurai), and West Bengal (Murshidabad).
Across Digital Sakhis’ existing and new programme locations, community members have adopted digital payments at a commendable 12 percent rate, fostering a cashless economy and increasing financial inclusion.
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