Mumbai, June 9, 2023. L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. (LTFH), a prominent Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), has achieved a significant milestone by empowering over 25 lakh community members through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, the 'Digital Sakhi' program. Launched in 2017, the program has consistently expanded its reach across various regions.
The primary objective of the Digital Sakhi program is to provide essential financial services and promote digital and financial literacy among community members. LTFH has successfully appointed more than 1,370 Sakhis to date, extending their services to the states of Karnataka and Kerala.
In the last fiscal year, the Digital Sakhi project made notable progress in Karnataka and Kerala. Over 225,000 individuals were reached in the first year alone through various initiatives. This included conducting Information Education Campaigns (IEC) through the creation of over 900 wall paintings across 310 villages, effectively benefiting 5 lakh people.
In Kerala, the Digital Sakhi project empowered more than 60,000 community members. With the implementation of intensive IEC, over 150 wall paintings were created across 100 villages, reaching a population of 2.5 lakhs. These visually captivating artworks played a crucial role in raising awareness and promoting the Digital Sakhi initiative.
Speaking about the progress of the Digital Sakhi program, Mr. Dinanath Dubhashi, Managing Director & CEO of LTFH said, “Our Digital Sakhis have played an active role in bridging the last mile gap and facilitating convergence of government schemes, conducting sessions in Gram Sabhasand the State Rural Livelihood Mission programs and supporting the community to obtain the benefits of government schemes. The efforts of Digital Sakhis have been instrumental in bringing the larger community into the ambit of entitlements. Our Digital Sakhi project has continued to invigorate the women empowerment narrative with many women rising up the ranks, from the confines of their homes to being change agents in their community. Our Digital Sakhis have effectively helped empower rural communities they operate in by promoting digital financial inclusion, providing impetus to women empowerment and gender equality, thereby strengthening the nation at the grassroot level and contributing to the overall national development agenda.”
Across our program locations of Digital Sakhi there has been a commendable 12 percent increase in the adoption of digital payments among the community members, promoting a cashless economy and enhancing financial inclusion. Furthermore, the initiative has identified and trained over 11,600 women entrepreneurs on essential skills for entrepreneurship, fostering economic empowerment and sustainable development in the community.
