Imagine a woman in rural India who produces handwoven textiles from her home. She has the skills to make more than she currently sells and knows there is demand beyond her village. But growing her business is another matter. Without affordable finance, she cannot invest in better equipment or increase production. Without connections to larger buyers, she relies on local markets and intermediaries. And working alone, she has little bargaining power over price.

Her challenge is not a lack of skill, ambition or even demand. It is accessing the systems that could turn a livelihood into a growing business.

Assam's rural economy is powered in large part by women. Across the Indian state's diverse livelihood sectors, from handloom and sericulture to fisheries, horticulture, and food processing, women play a critical role in sustaining households and local economies. Yet despite the market potential of many of these enterprises, barriers to finance, market access, business support, and productive assets often limit their ability to grow and generate higher incomes.

A new initiative led by the Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM), Government of Assam, with support from the Gates Foundation and technical assistance from Palladium, aims to change that.

Over the next 3 years, the Women's Economic Empowerment programme will transform Assam's extensive network of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) into thriving engines of rural enterprise. SHGs are small, voluntary groups of women who come together to save regularly, access credit, and collectively address livelihood and social challenges. The initiative is expected to benefit 1.5 million women SHG members, helping increase household incomes by more than 50 percent while creating stronger pathways to markets, finance, technology, and productive assets.

Building on a Strong Foundation

Assam has one of the country's most vibrant community institution networks, with more than 3.5 million women connected through Self-Help Groups. These groups play an important role in promoting financial inclusion and social empowerment across villages.

Most SHGs continue to function primarily as savings and credit groups. But their participation in producer collectives remains low, limiting opportunities for women to access larger markets, improve productivity, and move up the value chain. As a result, many continue to operate small-scale enterprises that generate only modest returns. "Thus, our focus is to help these women move from subsistence livelihoods to sustainable enterprises. That means building stronger institutions, improving market linkages, expanding access to finance, and creating the conditions for women's businesses to grow at scale," says Vikash Pandey, Associate Director, Palladium India.

The programme is focused on transforming more than 500 Cluster-Level Federations, which bring together hundreds of women’s groups across villages, into enterprise-oriented economic hubs that can support business growth across rural Assam. The initiative will also support approximately 250,000 nano, micro, and small women-led enterprises to access affordable finance, business development services, and new market opportunities.

“These federations will serve as rural economic hubs, helping aggregate products, maintain quality standards, connect women entrepreneurs to buyers, and provide access to market intelligence, finance, and business services. By strengthening these institutions, we aim to create an enabling ecosystem that supports enterprise growth well beyond the individual entrepreneur,” explains Pandey.

Strengthening High-Potential Value Chains

Assam possesses significant economic potential across sectors such as handloom, sericulture, agroforestry, food processing, fisheries, spices, and horticulture. However, much of the value generated in these sectors continues to be captured outside the state due to limited processing, branding, and market integration.

The programme will identify high-potential value chains where women can participate more competitively and capture a greater share of market value. By supporting improved production practices, value addition, branding, packaging, and market access, the initiative seeks to ensure that women producers can move beyond raw material sales and participate more profitably in the wider economy.

"Assam's products are rich in heritage, quality, and market potential," notes Vikash. "The opportunity lies in helping women producers capture more value through stronger branding, better market connections, and investments closer to where products are made."

Empowering Professionals at the Last Mile

Another key component of the initiative is the professionalisation of community-level livelihood workers.

Women serving as community resource persons, banking correspondents, and local cadres will receive training in digital technologies, enterprise development, market facilitation, and financial services. Equipped with new skills and tools, they will become trusted advisors capable of supporting SHGs with business planning, market information, credit access, and digital transactions.

This approach not only strengthens local service delivery but also creates new livelihood pathways for the women providing these services.

To improve visibility and market reach, the programme will support the establishment of a State-Level Women's Marketing Federation, creating a unified platform for products emerging from women-led enterprises across Assam. The federation will help consolidate products from multiple districts, maintain quality standards, and develop strong branding strategies that showcase the state's agricultural, artisanal, and cultural strengths.

The initiative also aims to launch 10 branded product lines across priority sectors and create stronger connections with retail chains, institutional buyers, and digital marketplaces.

"Creating scale is essential if women-led enterprises are to compete effectively," says Vikash.

"A state-level platform allows producers to come together under a common identity, build consumer trust, and access markets that would otherwise remain out of reach for individual enterprises."

A Systems-Level Approach to Economic Empowerment

Ultimately, the programme is expected to deliver significant economic outcomes over the next three years. Around 1.5 million women are projected to increase their incomes by at least 50%, while 150,000 women are expected to gain access to productive assets through convergence with government schemes and initiatives.

The programme will also seek to mobilise approximately US$200 million in public and private resources, creating additional momentum for women's entrepreneurship and rural economic growth.

For Palladium, says Amit Patjoshi, Palladium India CEO, “The project represents an opportunity to help shape a more inclusive rural economy—one where women are not only participants, but leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers.”

"Rather than delivering isolated interventions, this initiative brings together institutional strengthening, finance, market development, digital innovation, and policy convergence into one integrated model,” adds Patjoshi. Working alongside ASRLM and a broad ecosystem of partners, the team will help build the foundations for a more resilient rural economy—one where women's enterprises can thrive, local institutions can drive growth, and communities can unlock their full economic potential.

As Assam accelerates its development ambitions, the programme demonstrates what becomes possible when women are positioned not just as beneficiaries of growth, but as its architects. By transforming community institutions into engines of enterprise, the initiative has the potential to reshape rural economies across the state for years to come.