Technology is transforming the way we work, market, learn, and interact with customers. For women, especially those who work from home, those who live in the countryside, and those who work in the informal sector, technology may be the key to many opportunities that were once difficult to obtain.
Using technology to sell handmade goods, receive payments, and learn new skills, people are starting new careers thanks to the digital inventions.
For NGOs working with women-owned businesses like Self Help Groups (SHGs), digital technology will provide a powerful tool in their fight to strengthen their livelihoods and improve market access.
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How Digital Platforms Are Changing Women’s Livelihoods
There are many women who already possess valuable skills, such as weaving, handicrafts, preparing meals, sewing, beauty care, farming and more. The problem is not lack of skills, but lack of visibility, customers, finance and opportunities for growth.
Digital platforms can help fill this void.
An online marketplace could give a woman who has been selling products only in her village the opportunity to sell them to other cities. As a real-life business owner, she can market her services via social media. Digital payment systems can enable customers to make a payment without using cash.
As mentioned by UNDP, digital technologies can challenge the geographical constraints, access financial services, build skills and access the markets of women entrepreneurs. It also reveals that there are still many female entrepreneurs working in small and informal businesses in India.
This is especially the case for women who may not have a traditional business network.
Also Read: How NGOs Can Build a Strong Digital Presence
Digital Marketplaces Are Increasing the Number of Customers.
Market access is one of the largest opportunities enabled by the digital platforms.
It can be challenging for many women entrepreneurs and artisans to reach customers outside their local community. They might not have sufficient funds to advertise, brand, transport or have a physical storefront.
Digital marketplaces are another way.
Online platforms can be used by women to:
- Use pictures and words to list the products that can be sold.
- Connect with customers beyond their local market
- Take and process orders
- Accept digital payments
- Create a familiar corporate image.
- Understand the needs of customers
- Use social media to promote products
For example, NGOFeed’s NGO Bazaar is an online marketplace where NGOs, SHGs, artisans, women entrepreneurs, FPOs, and other purpose-driven sellers can display their products. Through this online marketplace, sellers are no longer limited to selling their product in localized markets or through word-of-mouth but instead can list their product and gain a wider market reach.
Therefore, digital marketplaces can enable a local product or service to become a business with a larger customer base.
Digital payments and skills can boost women’s businesses.
Being a seller online is just one component of creating a digital livelihood. Digital financial services and digital skills are interlinked.
For female entrepreneurs, digital payments can simplify receiving funds, tracking payments and receipts, and engaging in a more formal business setting. World Economic Forum has pointed out that digital payments offer the potential to provide economic opportunities for rural women by making business transactions more accessible.
Simultaneously, women must have the confidence and knowledge to utilize these tools.
Examples of basic digital skills may be:
With smartphones → digital profiles are created → products are marketed → accepted digital payment is made, orders are processed and communicated with customers.
This digital inclusion shouldn’t be limited to providing someone with a smartphone or a platform for NGOs. Women also require hands-on training and ongoing assistance.
Also Read: The Role of Digital Technology in Strengthening NGOs
New Opportunities beyond traditional selling
Digital platforms are offering opportunities to sell beyond the physical product.
With growing access to digital tools, women can increasingly seek employment, provide services, acquire new skills and engage with employers or customers. Opportunities can be especially beneficial for women who have mobility, location or traditional job restrictions.
For instance, digital platforms can aid in:
- Home-based businesses
- Teaching and training via internet
- Freelance services
- Digital marketing and content work.
- Online customer support
- Artisan & craft businesses
- Food and catering businesses
- Agricultural and producer-group enterprises
- Data collection and other technology-enabled activities
UNDP has pointed to instances of digital platforms establishing new opportunities for women, such as digital data collection and photography, and linking women service providers with their consumers.
Digital technology can thus broaden the scope of livelihoods. It can reinforce a current job or find a new way for women to earn a living.
What role can NGOs play in helping women to take advantage of digital platforms?
Technology does not necessarily lead to economic empowerment. Women require an ecosystem that fosters skills, access to markets, finance, mentorship and continued support.
This is where NGOs could be a very important player.
To assist women entrepreneurs, NGOs can organize: Digital literacy training, Product listing training, Financial management training, Linkage with e-marketplaces, and Opportunities to learn from other entrepreneurs.
The NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform is an example of the platform which connects various resources like finance, mentorship, training, market linkages and business support, emphasizing the need for an ecosystem approach over a single intervention.
Another step to build a transition from informal to sustainable businesses for women can be achieved with the help of NGOs in branding, documentation, communication with customers, digital payments and online visibility.
The end goal is not just to get women online. To support them in their quest to earn, grow, connect and create sustainable livelihoods through digital platforms.
Online technology becomes a tool for economic opportunity when a woman artisan is able to access new customers through an online marketplace, an SHG starts to receive online orders, and a home-based entrepreneur employs online tools to grow her business.
Investing in digital inclusion is investing in the capacity of women to be a part of the digital economy that is rapidly expanding in India, for NGOs.
Also Read: How Digital Solutions Can Help NGOs Expand Their Reach
FAQs
1. What are the benefits of digital platforms to women entrepreneurs?
They can connect with their clients, online platforms, digital payments, learning, networks, and new opportunities for jobs.
2. Do rural women benefit from digital platforms?
Yes. Digital platforms can break down geographical barriers, bringing together rural women, customers, markets, financial services and training. However, issues of access to devices, internet access, digital literacy and support in local language are still significant.
3. What can be done to foster digital livelihoods for women in the context of NGOs?
NGOs have opportunities to offer Digital skills training, Market linkages, financial literacy, Mentorship, and support for online business setup and product listing.
4. Is it feasible to generate sustainable livelihoods by digital platforms only?
No. Digital platforms are only a part of the solution. Along with skills, finance, reliable market access, infrastructure, and continued business support, sustainable livelihoods also need these.
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