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Across India, millions of small-scale retailers play a vital role in providing essential goods to their communities. Unilever’s Shakti programme enables women in rural areas to start and grow their businesses, gain financial independence, and expand access to essential goods in hard-to-reach regions.
The programme launched in 2001, and currently over 200,000 women are active in it across 22 states.
In daily life, women in rural communities across India have often lacked access to employment opportunities that would provide them with their own income. For the past two decades Shakti has worked to change that by promoting greater participation of women in economic and community decision-making.
Through a network of rural sales promoters, the Shakti ammas (‘ammas’ means mothers in Hindi) are enrolled in the Shakti programme. They are trained in business and financial management skills to help them start their own micro-enterprises, promoting and selling Unilever products. Coaching is also provided to build women’s self-confidence alongside their entrepreneurial capabilities.
A 2024 report from Kantar on Shakti’s social and economic impact, commissioned by Unilever, found that more than 95% of the Shakti ammas felt more confident in taking independent financial decisions, with their average household income rising 30–40% in the first year of business.
This financial know-how also led to 97% of those interviewed feeling more valued in their communities.
“People ask me how I started my business,” says one Shakti amma from West Bengal. “I was just a housewife before. But now, as I am running my own business, people get curious and ask me about it.”
As their confidence and independence grow, many women step into visible leadership roles that extend beyond their businesses. This shift has led to wider social benefits. Through the Shakti Vani programme, Shakti ammas use their trusted status to lead health and hygiene education at school assemblies and village meetings, helping to improve wellbeing across rural areas.
Unilever’s SAFAL (Skills Academy for the Advancement of Livelihoods) initiative, which provides young people with skills, training and job placements, has also partnered with UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited to launch Didi Ki Dukaan (DKD).
The project takes inspiration from the Shakti model and aims to continue its success by helping more young rural women become first-generation entrepreneurs.
Shakti also continues to evolve alongside the changing digital landscape. According to India’s Annual Survey for Education report, during the Covid-19 pandemic the number of households in rural India with smartphones more than doubled to almost 75%. By 2023 the report also showed the number of rural Indian households with smartphones and internet connectivity had reached 88%.
Yet despite this progress, many women still face barriers to digital inclusion, such as limited digital literacy and access to training and support.
To help bridge this divide, Shakti ammas now receive training in digital skills and are equipped with smartphones, which give them access to Shikhar, Unilever’s e-retail and e-commerce app.
Today, 85% of all Shakti retailers are active users of the app. This access to e-commerce means they can offer their communities the best of both worlds: a trusted physical retail presence as well as the digital convenience of placing orders for products they need, 24/7.
Shikhar also means even the smallest of retailers have access to AI tools. Voice commands allow less digitally savvy Shakti ammas to tell the app the products they need. A Smart Basket feature can also pre-populate regular orders.
For those Shakti ammas with shelf space, AI can recommend optimal product placement using store shelf image recognition to improve merchandising.
By analysing their individual stock data, the system can also suggest when to restock, what sells and what new products they could add to their retail mix. All of which can support better cashflow management for micro-entrepreneurs with little capital to spare.
While India remains central to Shakti, Unilever is working to expand the programme in markets such as Ethiopia and Nigeria.
One size does not fit all, though. In addition to the Shikhar app, various local apps and partners are helping retailers become digitally savvy. By providing women in diverse rural settings with access to these adaptable tools, alongside our Shakti programme, we aim to equip the next generation of women entrepreneurs and continue to drive inclusive economic growth.
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