Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) - Empowering Women in India

SEWA organized people in the same trade and used their collective bargaining power to buy raw materials at a lower rate. It also provided credit to the co-operatives to cover the various costs which included raw material costs, wages, marketing, etc. In order to increase the productivity of the workers, SEWA introduced new tools or modern methods of doing things. In the early 1970s, SEWA Bank acted as an intermediary between the SEWA members and the nationalized banks and enabled the depositors of SEWA Bank to get loans. At the beginning, the nationalized banks charged 9-16% interest, but this was decreased to 4%, following SEWA's lobbying with the government.

Since its launch, SEWA has been extremely successful in improving the socio-economic conditions of self-employed women in India. Now it aims to provide more facilities to its members through the use of information technology. SEWA plans to use computers in the STFC for handicraft/textile tracking and data-base needs. SEWA has also signed an agreement with local companies to design and develop tailor made software and training programs for SEWA members. SEWA is planning to invest Rs. 360 million to set up a production facility, 'Apparel and Accessories Park' in Ahmedabad with a capacity of 2,000 apparels a day.