Help Women in India Start Small Businesses

Summary

Trickle Up’s program in West Bengal, India is helping extremely poor women start or expand small businesses. They are breaking the cycle of migrant labor and building stronger communities.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Impoverished women in West Bengal, India have little choice but to become migrant agricultural laborers in order to feed their children. Moving from job to job with children in tow is a harsh way of life that undermines family stability and disrupts the children’s schooling. Trickle Up partners with a local community agency to offer these poor women the opportunity to start their own small family businesses. Help us to help them break the cycle of transitory work.

How will this project solve this problem?

Trickle Up provides seed capital of $100, business development training and support services to help women in West Bengal, one of India's poorest districts, to start small businesses. The women learn basic business skills and join savings groups.

Potential Long Term Impact

This project helps these extremely poor women become self-sufficient. They are able to use their business income and savings to provide for their families' basic needs and improve their lives while remaining in their own homes and community.

Project Message

Our program in West Bengal is enabling poor women to expand or launch a business and start savings funds.They are able to provide better nutrition for their children and stabilize their family's lives
- Janet Heisey, Program Officer for Asia

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).

Resources