Case Study Unilever

Case Study: Project ‘Shakti’ enables ‘Rojamma’ to be able to educate her daughters

Rojamma is a single parent living in Kurumurthy, a small rural village 150 kilometres south west of ydera!ad in the "ndian state of #ndhra $radesh% &rom a very poor  !a'kground, she was married at seventeen to a man with whom she had two daughters  !ut who then left her to fend for herself% #t first she she earned a few rupees working in her mother(s field !ut she found it diffi'ult to live on% # few years ago she joined a woman(s self)help group that was formed in the village to help women like Rojamma% # man from industan *ever 'ame to Kurumurthy and told the woman a!out $roje't Shakti% +&rom that moment my life 'hanged% industan *ever is -nilever(s !usiness in "ndia% .he 'ompany generates around half its  !usiness from "ndia(s towns and 'ities and half from from rural areas, where its produ'ts are sold in some 100,000 villages with populations of /000 or more% y the end of the 10s, however, the 'ompany reali2ed that to in'rease its market share it had to e3pand the market% .he 'hallenge was how to rea'h the 500,000 villages with smaller populations in more remote parts of the 'ountry, where there are millions of potential 'onsumers !ut no retail distri!ution network, no advertising 'overage and poor roads and transport% industan *ever(s solution, 'alled $roje't Shakti 4 whi'h means strength6 in Sanskrit7, was !oth !old and innovative% .he Company de'ided to tap into the growing num!er of women(s self)help groups that had !een springing up around the 'ountry% .hese groups, a!out one million of whi'h now n ow e3ists a'ross "ndia, are usually formed to help women save money and !orrow from ea'h other to avoid the e3'essive demands of uns'rupulous moneylenders% industan *ever made presentations at rural self)help group meetings, initially in #ndhra $radesh, and invited women, in'luding Rojamma, to !e'ome dire't)to) d ire't)to) 'onsumer sales distri!utors% .he 'ompany provides self)help group women with training in selling, 'ommer'ial knowledge and !ook)keeping, tea'hing them to !e'ome fully)fledged mi'ro) entrepreneurs% .he women who are trained 'an then 'hoose to set up their own !usiness or to !e'ome $roje't Shakti 4mothers(7 as they have !e'ome known% 8a'h woman who  !e'omes a distri!utor invests 10,000 9 15,000 rupees 4-S //0 9 ;;07 in sto'k at the outset 9 usually !orrowing from self)help groups or mi'ro)finan'e !anks fa'ilitated !y industan *ever% 8a'h aims to have around 500 'ustomers, mainly drawn from her village(s self)help groups and from near!y smaller villages% , and aims to have ;,500 i)Shakti kiosks on stream !y the end of /005%