Project Kirana-USAID and mastercard join hands to promote digital empowerment of women

Why in news?

• The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mastercard have partnered to promote digital empowerment of women in India through ‘Project Kirana’, a digital financial literacy programme for women entrepreneurs in India.
• Objective: To increase the revenue of the women-owned-and-operated kirana shops and also expand their financial inclusion and enable them to adopt digital tools like digital payments etc.
• USAID and Mastercard will support women participants to build financial and digital literacy skills.
• The customized training on business and financial management, and leadership development will be provided to the beneficiaries.
• Mastercard and USAID will also address the gender gaps that limit the ability for women-owned businesses to flourish.

About Project Kirana:

• Project Kirana is a two year programme implemented by DAI and ACCESS Development Services started in November 2020.
• It is working in some selected cities like Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh.
• It provides assistance to women to prepare basic business management skills such as sales, accounting, budget management, and insurance to become successful kirana entrepreneurs.
• It witnessed the participation of more than 2,100 women in the project.