Rural women frequently have primary responsibility for agricultural production, in addition to domestic responibilities and childcare. These demands place heavy demands on women’s time, and micro-enterprise activities. Moreover, limited access to productive resources, transport constraints, lack of market knowledge, and lack of basic literacy restrict the capacity of women to participate actively in business activities.

The number of women living in poverty has increased disproportionately over the past decade compared with the number of men. The feminisation of poverty is a direct consequence of women’s unequal access to economic opportunities. Social attitudes concerning the value of traditional women’s work activities and their potential abilities limit the participation rates and ultimate commercial success of women entrepreneurs.

Given the importance of women empowerment, Drishtee has been actively promoting the training and capacity building of women enterpreneurs. The health vertical within Drishtee is led by the Women Health Entrepreneurs. Drishtee could attract more than 500 such entrepreneurs in rural villages.