8 minute read
Girl Power Project
TEAM GIRL POWER
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ffective marketing of products is essential for any business to flourish in the market. It is particularly crucial for new entrepreneurs just starting their businesses and entering the competitive market to establish themselves. It is through marketing that businesses introduce their brand in the market. To a great extent, it determines whether a product stays relevant in the market or gets erased from public memory. Marketing is vital at all stages of a company’s sales journey. It requires using different platforms, social media channels, and internal teams to identify, engage with, increase the voice and build brand loyalty. Markets are responsible for making the economy strong and stable. Marketing has evolved with time since people’s tastes are constantly changing. In a dynamic society, our marketing needs to be dynamic as well. One of the least developed states of India, Jharkhand, witnesses a high rate of illiteracy, especially among women, which makes them disadvantaged in terms of getting opportunities for growth and development. The following project collaborates with partners from within the state with innovative models and best practices to build capacities and knowledge of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) by engaging them with social enterprises focusing on women and girls. Also, it will provide skills and competencies for strengthening Self Help Groups (SHGs) and creating social enterprises for empowering women and girls. The rural market is majorly dependent on agriculture. For daily use items, the households are usually self-sustainable. Therefore, the women would need to
Girl Power Project showcasing items prepared by women entrepreneurs in an exhibition
reach beyond their local markets to find a large consumer base for their products. The extra income from the side business could make the women financially independent. European Union-funded Girl Power Project extends its marketing support to all women entrepreneurs in over ten districts of Jharkhand by promoting their products online and offline. It provides them with a marketing platform by organising a showcasing event at a higher level. It also focuses on market-led enterprise building. This means identifying gaps in the market to anticipate which areas would yield maximum profits, creating quality entrepreneurs for growing the business, and emphasising serving a variety of market segments. This is in keeping with the socioeconomic profile and skillset of the beneficiaries, that is, the informally employed poor and women with social constraints. The integration aims to support women and girls to have a firm footing in the competitive market. This Diwali season, with the help of the Jharkhand IAS Officers’ Wives Association (JIASOWA), Girl Power Project supported women entrepreneurs from two districts of Jharkhand – East Singhbhumand and Hazaribagh – to promote their hand made bamboo craft and terracotta products. The event was a success, and women entrepreneurs who participated in this event were motivated to take part in more such events. Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren inaugurated the event. He interacted with all the entrepreneurs from different districts of Jharkhand, creating a sense of enthusiasm among the women. The five-day event was held from October 14 – 18, 2022, at Stall (A21), Morabadi Ground, Ranchi. THE ExHIbITIOn – An OPPORTUnITy FOR THE nEW EnTREPREnEURS
The women who have now learned to leverage their existing skills to produce finished products are faced with the challenge of finding customers for their products. Consumption within their villages, communities and localities cannot suffice. For the business to yield profits, the reach of the product has to be wide as well. This reach is available in cities which are not easily accessible to these women. The investment of time and money that it demands is often unaffordable for them. Through this event, the Girl Power Project aimed to provide the crucial service of market linkage, which is essential in turning any small business successful. It helped the women reach various customers and provided them with a platform for advertising their handmade products and promoting their skills on a larger scale. We know that practical exposure is far more important than learning theories. This exhibition provided practical exposure to women entrepreneurs. It allowed them to establish connections with other women entrepreneurs and learn from their experiences.
Since it takes time to see a business bloom into a successful enterprise, these events can be morale boosters for these women entrepreneurs in the initial days of a business. It builds their confidence and helps them understand the market environment. They will, in turn, motivate other women in their community to start their businesses or even start collaborations. Most importantly, the exhibition created awareness about women entrepreneurs and their products among people. CAPACITy bUIlDInG OF WOMEn EnTREPREnEURS
Krishna Dutta and bina Kumari, entrepreneurs from Jamshedpur, displayed their handmade textiles and jewellery. Handicrafts are those goods and items produced by simple tools, technologies and methods rather than being produced at a larger scale where production is mainly mechanised and specialised. Handicrafts can include a range of items such as apparel, jewellery, crocheting, home décor, and religious and traditional items. Crocheting is the art of creating unique textiles which are visually appealing products for use in the home, such as pillow covers, table coverings and clothing items. Manju Devi from Hazaribagh district showcased her skills in making bamboo craft. bamboo as material for making handicraft items is prevalent in tribal villages of Jharkhand. It has been in the state for a long time, where it finds a suitable climate for growth. The local artisans are masters at their craft and make everyday items such as mats, baskets, containers, furniture items, etc. before participating in this event, women entrepreneurs had no practical experience with such events or market exposure. The exhibit helped them build their capacity by providing them with opportunities for learning and gaining enriching experiences. This event was fruitful in many ways in the lives of our women entrepreneurs. The event helped them create a market presence and promote themselves and their products at a level that reached a sizeable elite section of the urban population. This platform helped generate awareness and build a network with other nGOs, business houses and entrepreneurs. It also allowed the women entrepreneurs and the Girl Power Project team to study the market environment and create a database of customers.
AIILSG DIAry
To pay homage to former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) organised a book display event on his birth anniversary, October 15, commemorated as ‘Vachan Prerana Din’. A collection of books written by Dr Kalam and various other authors were put on display to encourage reading habit among people
A one-day exposure visit to Gandtal Harwan was also organised during the planning and implementation training of Jal Jeevan Mission AIILSG in collaboration with UT Administration of J & K organised a four-day residential training programme for Level-3 Officials in Srinagar, was organised for effective planning and implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission
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EVEnt Thiruvananthapuram becomes 29th Indian City to join Global Covenant of Mayors South Asia
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala: Arya Rajendran, Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, signed the commitment letter to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), thus making Trivandrum the 29th city from India and second city from Kerala to join this global network. The other member city from the state is Kochi.
GCoM is the largest coalition of mayors committed to taking action on climate change. This global network currently includes over 11,500 cities and local governments representing around 1 billion people spread across 142 countries. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change. Together, they strive towards a resilient and lowemission society.
The signatory cities aim to achieve the ambitious goals ascertained in the Paris Agreement of 2015. The signatory city has to undertake initiatives aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, prepare itself for the effects of climate change, enhance access to sustainable clean energy solutions and lastly, the cities have to track the progress of all the initiatives. Speaking on climateinduced challenges that coastal cities like Thiruvananthapuram face, Binu Francis, Secretary, Corporation of Thiruvananthapuram, said, “Trivandrum has around 28 km of coastal line. We are facing some kind of sea erosion in certain places. The second thing is, it’s a low-lying area which witnesses flooding in the monsoon season. We have a state-level climate action plan and a disaster management plan at the city level which is prepared with many stakeholders. At the larger level, we have a project worth `1000 crore which will mitigate such issues.”
He also spoke about the value addition that knowledge-sharing platforms can bring in our fight against climate change. He added, “Sharing and getting knowledge of success stories in other cities could be useful. Some of them can be replicated in certain areas. So, experience sharing could be useful in addressing some of the issues collectively.” Through GCoM and local/global city network partners, the Global Covenant of Mayors will offer technical support and training and work with Thiruvananthapuram to plan and implement climate initiatives more effectively. It will provide access to global city data, research and knowledge, harmonised reporting standards and technical assistance in preparing climate action plans as well as increased access to finance. In addition, GCoM’s global research and innovation agenda on cities and climate change will support cities in developing the science and knowledge needed to help evolve urban areas into transformative agents of change. GCoM-SA will also aim to facilitate collaboration with multilevel governance actors to allow Indian cities to implement the climate action plan in an integrated way, collectively raising global climate ambition to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Indian cities will host 200 million more people by 2030, and two-thirds of India’s buildings that will exist by 2030 remain to be built. The country’s future urban planning and implementation will have a decisive influence on the global climate impact of international efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
