Vodafone India announced a strategic partnership to facilitate payments to artisans via M-Pesa mobile wallets. This strategic partnership is aimed at driving financial inclusion further which will improve the lives of many artisans, most of whom are women.
Jaipur Rugs has close to 40,000+ home-based artisans spread across 600 villages. Around 80% of these artisans are women who live in disadvantaged communities of rural India. They do not have access to the basic financial services. In India, there are only 1 lakh plus bank branches. In rural areas, for every 1000 km there are 33 branches. Penetration is only 5 per cent. Post Office network is tried and tested. It has a rural presence but there’s a cost to it and it’s not real time. It takes time for the money to reach the recipient. The strategic partnership between Vodafone M-Pesa and Jaipur Rugs will address this latent need of the artisans and will provide them the following benefits:
Amit Bedi, Business Head, Rajasthan Circle – Vodafone India, said “We see a natural synergy between Vodafone M-Pesa and Jaipur Rugs to offer financial services to the unbanked and the under-banked community of India. We are delighted to partner with Jaipur Rugs to facilitate payments using M-Pesa`s safe, secure, and cashless transaction capability. From process automation to instant and secure transaction, we are confident M-Pesa will bring transformational benefits to Jaipur Rugs and further drive financial inclusion by empowering the rural community with extensive and transparent financial capabilities.”
Nand Kishore Chaudhary, Founder, Jaipur Rugs said, “We are very elated to join forces with Vodafone for this first of its kind initiative for weaving community of rural India. This will not only mitigate the cash transaction risk but also save many of our resources. It will also encourage our weavers to develop a habit of saving. I am very happy to have Vodafone on-board in our journey of transforming lives in the grassroots’ community.”
