These 850 sakhis sell utility products for India Inc—for a fee and a share of profits.
Sakhi Retail owes its existence to brainstorming sessions that Prema Gopalan of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) had with management guru CK Prahalad and Jeb Brugmann, co-founders of the advisory firm, The Next Practice. The idea was to craft a business model that allowed village women to participate in, and benefit from, every aspect of commercial activities they would engage in.
Sakhi Retail distributes white goods and FMCG products in rural areas. Women who distribute the products not only earn a commission on sales, but also share profits as owners of the company. Each of the 850 sakhis, or friends as they are known in the villages, are members of SSP’s self-help groups, stocking and selling a variety of goods. The company’s turnover touched Rs 2 crore last year.
“Prahalad led us through the transition by ensuring that our social objectives are not compromised,” recalls Gopalan. It was critical for she was wary, like most NGOs are, about profit-driven market systems. Sakhi Retail has partnered with many companies in not only setting up distribution channels, but also co-creating low-cost products for rural India. Examples include a mini fridge for Godrej & Boyce and a stove for BP Energy.
Gopalan started work in the Mumbai slums as co-founder of Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres along with Sheela Patel. Jockin Arputham of the National Slum Dwellers Federation mentored them and taught them the art of feeling the pulse of communities.
The earthquake that devastated parts of Marathwada in 1993 shifted Gopalan’s focus to rural areas. She oversaw the reconstruction of villages with several other agencies, empowered communities to help themselves and also facilitated savings groups for women.
“With microfinance, we could support only a limited group,” she says. “Now, with a business entity in the fold, we are into fast-track development.” Working with corporates hasn’t been easy, for most companies are focused on profits. “We have to educate them on our social values,” says Gopalan. “Earlier, we lobbied with government. Now, we are lobbying with companies.”
This is just the beginning of a long haul in the NGO’s dalliance with profits and business matters. SSP is on the learning curve. So are the companies she is partnering with. The association has apparently enabled Godrej & Boyce, for instance, to absorb the mental make-up of social entrepreneurs. It has begun to think like one and a focus on livelihoods is now primary.
“We may have to deskill manufacturing to benefit those at the bottom of the pyramid,” says G Sunderraman, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Godrej & Boyce. A joint manufacturing venture, with village women at the helm, is possibly what he is hinting at. That, indeed, would be progress.