• Mastercard and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have collaborated under Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to launch ‘Project Kirana’, to help women entrepreneurs grow and thrive.
• Project Kirana is a two year programme, and initially it will be rolled out in select cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi.
• The programme will be implemented by DAI Digital Frontiers and ACCESS Development Services.

Objective:

• Build financial and digital literacy skills;
• improve basic business management skills including inventory management, accounting, budget management and customer loyalty;
• addressing cultural and other barriers to women becoming successful kirana entrepreneurs;
• It will work to increase revenue streams, expand financial inclusion and digital payments adoption of kirana shops that are owned or operated by women.