How do women intermediaries build trust in rural India’s last-mile delivery? In part 3 of this series, Ava Haidar from Aapti Institute deconstructs the vital role of ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers, and Bank Correspondent Sakhis in bridging communities with digital services … Read More
Customising Trust Relationships: Why Women Need Digital Control
How can women truly feel safe and in control in today’s digital spaces? In part 2 of this series, Manvi Parashar from Aapti Institute explores how cultural norms and family monitoring in India make online engagement tricky, highlighting the need … Read More
Closing The Gender Digital Divide: The Role of Trust in Women’s Digital Inclusion
How does trust influence women’s engagement with the digital world? In part 1 of this series, Aditi Shah from Aapti Institute unpacks the concept of digital trust, drawing on insights from a human-centred design approach to understand women’s perspectives and … Read More
Field Notes: Understanding the Steep Road to Credit for Women Entrepreneurs
Small-scale entrepreneurship is an important pillar for promoting inclusive development in India, fuelling communities with innovation and job creation. However, entrepreneurs, particularly women, face several constraints in starting and growing their businesses. One such key constraint well-documented in literature is … Read More
Towards Effective Substance Use Treatment in India: A Data-Driven Approach
Substance use disorder (SUD) is a rapidly growing public health problem in India, with alcohol, cannabis and opioids being the most common psychoactive substances consumed by the 10-75 year age group (NSEPSU, 2018). Substance use disorder (SUD) or substance abuse … Read More
Deciphering Data: How Researchers at LEAD are Using AI for Qualitative Research
In the fast-changing world of social impact research, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) — especially Generative AI — presents exciting new possibilities, especially for enhancing the efficiency of workflows in qualitative research. This technological breakthrough grants researchers access to … Read More
Social Media’s Impact on Women’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Expanding upon the insights shared in the initial segment of our two-part blog, the discussion in this second piece is anchored on the women who are benefitting from taking the social commerce route globally and how social media is providing … Read More
Social Commerce and the Growth of Women Entrepreneurship
This blog dissects social commerce in the business realm. To better understand how social media and e-commerce work together, our research explores the role social commerce plays in the advancement of women-owned businesses. The piece’s core objective is to provide … Read More
Minding the Gender Gap in MSME Credit
NBFIs have introduced “subjective” discretion in the underwriting and credit analysis process for women entrepreneurs. While mainstream financial institutions do not back this strongly, the non-traditional institutions have taken a leap forward for inclusion of women borrowers. Women-run MSMEs constitute … Read More
Gig Economy – The Indian Picture So Far
In the wake of COVID 19, Gig work emerged as a lucrative source of income generation for many. Significant advancements in technology, which allow quick access to and delivery of services even through mobile devices, have further enabled its proliferation … Read More