Ola Foundation launches drive to enable sustainable livelihoods for 5 lakh women by 2025

Ride hailing platform Ola on Thursday announced the launch of its drive to enable sustainable livelihoods for 500,000 women through its social welfare arm, Ola Foundation.

This will be an important fillip for women who are seeking employment but do not have the necessarily skills. The drive aims to empower women financially, and make a difference to their lives. The main aim of the foundation is to enable economic empowerment for women through employment-linked skills training, financial literacy, and social empowerment through life skills education.

Speaking at the launch, Srinivas Chunduru - Mentor at Ola Foundation and group CHRO, Ola, said, “Women can play a transformative role in society. Ola Foundation's vision is to provide them access to resources and opportunities to create and bring about sustainable change in their lives, their families, and the community at large. Our pilot programmes have demonstrated that financial and social independence for women can bring about a significant improvement in the well being of their families. We are excited to work with various partners and patrons towards our mission to build sustainable livelihoods for 500,000 women by 2025.”

For this, Ola Foundation has partnered with various organisations to deliver programmes that will focus on economic and social empowerment of women. It has also tied up with 2Coms, an NSDC-certified vocational training partner, to train women with skills that would qualify them for employment and become financially independent.

In partnership with Buzz India, the foundation will also impart the fundamentals of financial literacy to women and help them increase savings and reduce dependence on debt. According to a report by the Clinton Global Initiative, children’s education is prioritised in families where women are earning members and up to 90 percent of a woman's income was spent on children and the family.

Its tie-up with Gram Tarang will enable social empowerment and life skills training with the help of a 60-hour interactive programme.This programme enhances specific competencies such as communication, problem solving, decision making, health, hygiene, and sanitation. This academically proven module helps improve self-worth and increases confidence among women, leading to holistic development.

The charitable Ola Foundation, set up in December 2016, has been actively involved in projects related to women empowerment over the last two years. Observations, research, and interactions with women, including spouses of Ola’s driver-partners in Bangalore, have shown how active participation by women in the workforce can significantly improve quality of life for the whole family.

The Foundation’s training programmes so far include training in textile production and printing, financial and digital literacy programmes, health awareness, and vocational skills.

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