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Economic inclusion and the entrepreneurial spirit

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Highly confident, women entrepreneurs still face systemic barriers

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Making connections that move ideas into action

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Unlocking the power of small businesses to drive climate-smart inclusive growth

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The Center’s partnership with Mann Deshi Foundation recognizes that connecting women to know-how, along with access to financial services, is essential to helping women-owned businesses grow and thrive.

In a small village in Maharashtra province in India, Aarti and her husband were having a hard time. Aarti’s mother-in-law had fallen ill and the medical bills were leaving little money in the budget at the end of the month. Aarti thought it would be smart to capitalize on the tourist trade that flocked to their historic village of Vardhangad on Satara-Pandharpur highway by opening a snack shop.
The business took off and she soon found herself working morning to evening. Yet despite her hard work, she still had little left over after expenses. She needed advice and a mentor, so she turned to Mann Deshi, a bank in rural India <a href="https://www.mastercardcenter.org/spotlight-articles/the-invention-of-doorstep-banking">owned and operated by women</a>. 

Founded by <a href="https://www.mastercardcenter.org/insights/driving-inclusive-growth-innovative-community-based-solutions">Chetna Sinha</a> and supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the Mann Deshi Foundation offers women entrepreneurs in the Satara district a network of contacts and education to help them expand their businesses. Aarti would become one of 5,500 women to join the first-ever Chamber of Commerce for Rural Women in its first year of operation.

A network of know-how helps women entrepreneurs in rural India