The Indian School of Business (ISB) has tied up with ANSR Foundation and SAFA Society to introduce a structured capacity building programme called EmpowHer to build the capacities of women-led micro enterprises in Hyderabad. The mission aims to tackle the most pressing challenges for women entrepreneurs such as financial literacy, digitization, business planning and access to formal financial systems. The programme is anticipated to have a pro-growth, pro-digital empowerment, pro-micro-enterprise, pro-financial inclusion, pro-women entrepreneurship, and pro-sustainable livelihood impacts.

Programme Focuses on Financial, Digital and Business Readiness.

EmpowHer starts by comprehensively evaluating the enterprises to identify their strengths and scope for support. Participants will then get financial management, business development, branding, pricing, packaging, digital tools, customer engagement and credit readiness training along with structured mentoring to use these resources. The programme will also develop an impact measurement framework to track the progress of the enterprises on the ground and produce research that will be used to inform broader conversations on women's economic empowerment through case studies and policy briefs.

At ISB, we are focused on practical learning and research.

However, many women entrepreneurs have a good business sense, but are not connected to formal systems, financial literacy and growth structures, said Anvesh Thirukovalluru, Associate Director, ISB Centre for Business Innovation. He mentioned that the programme has been customised to get a deeper understanding of each enterprise before offering them practical assistance regarding financing, pricing, packaging, internet access and preparing them for credit. ISB also aims to gain insights from the participants' experiences to create stronger models that will help support women entrepreneurs, he added.

ANSR Foundation puts long-term economic confidence in the spotlight

Caroline Fernandez-Ahuja, Managing Director, ANSR Foundation explained that the project is not merely about training, but also to provide practical tools that will be useful in the day-to-day business decisions of women. She said the collaboration with ISB and SAFA Society provides financial preparedness, access to the market, digital skill sets, and business knowledge, which helps women entrepreneurs expand their businesses more confidently and fosters a better economic future for their families.

To drive the implementation of the CEDAW on the ground, SAFA Society is doing its part.

The programme will be implemented by SAFA Society, which has an experience of almost 20 years of working with women and Self Help Groups in Hyderabad. The partnership will work to provide sustainable livelihoods opportunities for women still facing social and economic challenges by engaging in micro-enterpreneurship, said Rubina N F, the partnership's founder and president. The initiative is in sync with the increasing policy focus on financial inclusion and its objective is to support women's entry into the formal financial system after getting them skills-based training, she added.

Partnership Seeks Measurable and Lasting Impact

In addition to enterprise development, ISB will share learnings about the structural challenges impacting women's economic involvement through research, case studies, policy briefs and knowledge platforms. The partners are convinced that applying research to the community will provide concrete responses to support women-led businesses. By EmpowHer, ISB, ANSR Foundation, and SAFA Society hope to establish measurable, scalable, and sustainable avenues for increased longer-term growth of women entrepreneurs.