PUBLIC
L&T Finance Ltd. launches Digital Sakhi project in Udaipur, Rajsamand, and
Chittorgarh in Rajasthan
- The project will onboard 100 rural women as Digital Sakhis who will spread Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) to rural communities across 400 villages in Udaipur, Rajsamand and Chittorgarh
- L&T Finance Ltd. aims to reach over 5 lakh people in the region by the end of 2028
- Digital Sakhis will identify and provide training and support to 1,000 rural women entrepreneurs, enabling them to expand and strengthen their existing micro- businesses
Udaipur, September 10, 2024: L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF), one of the leading Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the country, announced the launch of its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project - 'Digital Sakhi' in Udaipur, Rajsamand, and Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. This program is under the Digital and Financial Inclusion vertical of LTF. It empowers women to catalyse positive change in their communities through Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) and help create sustainable livelihoods for women.
By achieving these objectives, the Company intends to have a significant positive impact on the lives of rural women and their families, fostering financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development in the region. The Digital Sakhi program focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 - Gender Equality, wherein women are identified from rural communities and trained extensively on DFL, leadership, and technology.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Sudipta Roy, Managing Director & CEO of LTF said, "After the successful implementation of Digital Sakhi projects in the nine states, we are delighted to bring our flagship CSR project in Rajasthan. With this initiative, we're not only empowering women from rural communities but also helping to bridge the digital divide, and achieve gender equality at scale. The convergence of social, economic, and digital forces is helping us to build a more inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable society, and we're proud to be a part of this journey towards a brighter future for all."
Speaking about the Digital Sakhi program, Ms. Apurva Rathod, Company Secretary and Chief Sustainability Officer at LTF said, " Our Digital Sakhis will be at the forefront to impart digital financial literacy among rural communities in Udaipur, Rajsamand, and Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. They will play a crucial role in connecting rural communities with government initiatives, and ensuring individuals are aware of and can access various benefits. Additionally, they will empower women to become financially inclusive and entrepreneurial."
LTF will implement this project with the support of implementing agency Manjari Foundation. Notably, since its inception in 2017, the project has created a cadre of over 1,770 Digital Sakhis who have benefited over 45 lakh individuals and helped upskill over 14,000 women entrepreneurs. In the past month, the Digital Sakhi project has been extended to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Saharsa in Bihar. Apart from Rajasthan, the Digital Sakhi project is currently active in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
PUBLIC
About L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF):
L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF) (https://www.ltfs.com), formerly known as L&T Finance Holdings Ltd., (LTFH) is a leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), offering a range of financial products and services. Headquartered in Mumbai, the Company has been rated 'AAA' - the highest credit rating for NBFCs - by four leading rating agencies. It has also received leadership scores and ratings by global and national Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating providers for its sustainability performance. The Company has been certified as a Great Place To Work® and has also won many prestigious awards for its flagship CSR project - "Digital Sakhi"- which focuses on women's empowerment and digital and financial inclusion. Under Right to Win, being in the 'right businesses' has helped the Company become one of the leading financiers in key Retail products. The Company is focused on creating a top-class, digitally enabled, Retail finance company as part of the Lakshya 2026 plan. The goal is to move the emphasis from product focus to customer focus and establish a robust Retail portfolio with quality assets, thus creating a Fintech@Scale while keeping ESG at the core. Fintech@Scale is one of the pillars of the Company's strategic roadmap - Lakshya 2026. The Company has around 2.4 Crore customer database, which is being leveraged to cross- sell, up-sell, and identify new customers.
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About Manjari Foundation:
Manjari Foundation is a registered non-profit organization working to alleviate poverty in rural India. Manjari's founders set out on a mission to uplift rural communities by building resilient and self-sustainablewomen-led institutions. Manjari Foundation has devised an effective and easily adaptable women-centric model that is capable of bringing lasting social and economic change in adverse conditions. Through their network of women's institutions, the organization implements well-planned thematic interventions in livelihoods, gender, health, education, and natural resource management, to bring about an overall improvement in the quality of rural life. Having impacted the lives of over 470,000 rural people, Manjari Foundation perseveres towards achieving new milestones with the belief that someone, somewhere will make a choice to support our mission and come forward to be a part of our endeavour. 'Manjari' literally translates to "seed of Tulsi", a sacred Indian plant. 'When women mobilize themselves to form institutions, they are empowered to sow their own 'seeds of change'.