In a bid to empower the women living in India’s smaller towns and cities, Paytm Payments Bank has launched an initiative in association with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Named as Paytm AshaKiran, this initiative will train the rural Indian women and help them act as a catalyst in the nationwide roll-out of Paytm’s bank offerings.
“With this initiative, we aim to help women to understand the financial services sector and become self-reliant, to be a part of India’s mainstream economy,” said Renu Satti, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Paytm Payments Bank.
“This programme would support and educate these women as they take their first steps towards financial inclusion,” she added.
In the first phase of the initiative, the bank has collaborated with the UNDP’s Disha Project to mobilise self-help groups and arrange workshops in towns and cities across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The initiative will offer skill development opportunities to rural women by training and certify them to function as banking correspondents.
Women-centric organisations namely the IKEA Foundation and SHEROES are providing assistance of UNDP’s Disha Project. The bank is also planning to partner with government bodies to reach out to more women across India.
