SMV Green Solutions felicitated 15 of their women e-rickshaw drivers to commemorate their first year of independence. The event took place in a community center in George Town, Prayagraj. The women were gifted dinner sets to mark their first year as entrepreneurs.
The women e-rickshaw drivers ( Vahinis), addressed over 40 women present at the event encouraging them to join the ranks of Vahini. They shared their stories about how driving and owning e-rickshaws have made them self-reliant and the challenges they had to overcome to become e-rickshaw drivers. The Vahinis spoke with pride on their financial independence as a result of earning a stable income.
SMV Green Solutions, a social enterprise backed by Shell Foundation started the Vahini Project in December 2017. The project was undertaken to empower women to become micro-entrepreneurs, owners and drivers of e-rickshaws. Owning the e-rickshaw that they drive provides the women the flexibility to work at a time suitable for them. The women work for two to five hours, depending on the time available to them on a particular day and plied on fixed routes.
According to Naveen Krishna, Managing Director of SMV Green Solutions, “The idea behind this event was to encourage the Vahinis to continue leading the life of freedom as a micro-entrepreneur. The event turned out to be a great success as nine more women agreed to join the ranks of our existing Vahinis. The past year has proven to be a significant time in their lives as they started earning a dignified living as e-rickshaw drivers. The Vahinis earn a stable livelihood and also manage their household chores in their own time.”
Krishna adds, “The objective of the Vahini project is to change the mindset of women on driving e-rickshaws. Our aim is to create an ecosystem that empowers more women to become self-reliant. SMV Green Solutions has worked with more than 300 women over time, helping them earn higher wages. Each woman e-rickshaw driver is earning Rs 500 to 600 per day.”
SMV Green Solutions hopes to encourage more and more women to increase their income and empower them to become micro-entrepreneurs.
Source: SMV Green Solutions
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