How SwitchON Foundation can propel Bengal’s rural women entrepreneurs into the modern age

What comes to mind when we mention rural women entrepreneurs? Stories of resilience? Of overcoming extraordinary challenges? Sure. But what if we said that there are easier ways to become self-sufficient, resilient, and build a strong foundation that will not only stand in the face of adversity but also learn from it and become better? After all, can India truly claim to be the land of startups, when the same avenues and facilities are not necessarily available to rural entrepreneurs, especially rural women?

This is where the SwitchON Foundation comes into place. Instead of trying to change everything from scratch, the SwitchON Foundation works on making crucial, meaningful changes at a micro level. Over the last 15 years, SwitchON Foundation, registered as the Environment Conservation Society, has grown as a dynamic, award-winning not-for-profit working across Clean Air and Sustainable Cities and Energy, Water, and Agriculture Nexus. The Foundation, which is currently working across 10 states in India, has a rather simple vision: a sustainable and equitable India. 

Sustainable and equitable: two words that may sound relatively simple, but only those who work on the ground know how difficult it is to implement them. This perhaps explains why SwitchON Foundation works in four phases: pilot, implementation, creating ecosystems and developing networks.