Table of Contents
June 11, 2025 | 
Saksham Jha & Saro Jos
The Amar Takka campaign was a ten-day initiative under the project “Upskilling of Women Entrepreneurs and Enhancing Their Participation in the Digital Economy”, implemented across the districts of Birbhum, Bankura, and Burdwan in West Bengal. The campaign focused on addressing the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in adopting UPI-based digital transactions. Despite increasing digitalization, many women struggled with UPI integration due to limited smartphone access, low digital literacy, fear of online fraud, lack of confidence, and insufficient support from financial institutions. These barriers, especially prevalent in rural areas, often excluded women from fully participating in the digital economy. The campaign aimed to overcome these challenges through awareness sessions, peer learning, and practical demonstrations to enable confident and secure digital engagement.
The Amar Takka campaign engaged approximately 375 women entrepreneurs across 15 villages in West Bengal, working in diverse handicraft sectors such as dokra, terracotta, kantha stitch, shell work, weaving, and bhel jewellery. The campaign aimed to initiate a focused dialogue on the importance of women having control over their own finances, highlighting how owning a UPI account in their name could serve as a tool for self-validation and empowerment. Key objectives included conducting focused group discussions around UPI integration, encouraging one woman entrepreneur per community to serve as a campaign ambassador to share her personal digital journey, and facilitating UPI account creation for others. Additionally, the campaign emphasized ecosystem building through home visits, involving family members and the larger community in supporting women’s financial independence. By embedding digital inclusion within social structures, Amar Takka sought to empower women not just economically, but also in decision-making within their households and businesses.
During the campaign, several insights emerged about the existing economic ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in West Bengal. These reflections can be best understood by revisiting each campaign objective and the experiences gathered while implementing them.
The mechanism of collective conversations has proven to be particularly effective in fostering empowerment. Initiating such discussions led to multiple conversations where women were able to share personal truths—such as who gets to decide how their money is used, even if it is earned by them, and how someone else’s needs (usually a household member) often take priority over setting aside money for themselves.
Positioning women in community leadership roles fosters a chain reaction of empowerment among their peers. As campaign ambassadors, these women led sessions where they shared their personal journeys, creating a space for experiential learning. Their presence as relatable role models within the community encouraged other women to engage more openly, especially around fears related to technology. This peer-led approach not only built trust but also facilitated a supportive environment that motivated collective participation and growth.
Women face multiple layers of challenges in owning a UPI account, often requiring consistent handholding to initiate their participation in the digital economy. This campaign revealed the nuanced ground realities of many women entrepreneurs, making the facilitation process both insightful and complex. Common barriers included inactive or inaccessible bank accounts, absence of debit cards, Aadhaar cards not linked to phone numbers, and in some cases, the complete lack of a personal bank account. While the campaign addressed these issues at a preliminary level, several cases require longer-term support and coordination with institutional mechanisms to enable a smoother and more inclusive on boarding process.
A woman entrepreneur’s financial independence is influenced by her relationships with family, Self Help Groups, and the broader village ecosystem. The decision to open and use a UPI account in her own name signifies her empowerment and alignment with these support networks. Such empowerment relies heavily on a positive and enabling environment. To support this transition, the campaign focused on home visits and providing services at the doorstep, ensuring easier access to digital financial tools. This approach helped overcome barriers and encouraged more women to participate confidently in the digital economy, fostering greater financial inclusion and self-reliance.
Written by – Saksham Jha, Women Entrepreneurship Program in collaboration with one of our implementation partners, Saro Jos, Amar Kutir Society for Rural Development.
