BC-Sakhis: Driving financial inclusion and empowering rural India

If India is to become a $5-trillion economy, it is important that the women of the country play a substantial role, especially at the last mile, in fulfilling this objective.

In India, close to 48% of the rural population are women. However, owing to societal constructs and low literacy rates, they have very little or no access to any form of financial services or employment.

Today, only 27% of women in India are employed. According to the Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), women owned 13.76% of enterprises in India. For India to progress, women need to come forward and participate in large numbers. In such a scenario, the importance of financial and digital awareness for women at the last mile becomes very important.

While India’s banking sector is witnessing a tectonic shift led by tech evolution, infrastructure remains a genuine concern, limiting access to financial and digital services for the less tech-savvy and tech-shy cohort, particularly women. This is where women business correspondents (BCs), also known as BC-Sakhis, play a vital role.

These Sakhis not only facilitate essential financial services but also bring them directly to people’s homes, effectively addressing issues at the last mile. Their invaluable assistance ensures that citizens, including women, can access a wide range of basic financial services even outside regular banking hours.

Empowering women of Bharat

While the pathways to women’s enablement are many, one of the most important facilitators is financial empowerment. It is important that women have access to digital and financial tools, which give them better control over their earnings and savings.

The BC-Sakhis model aims to uplift women by providing them with skills, financial independence, and improved employment opportunities. This not only enables them to contribute equally to economic growth but also fosters a more inclusive and sustainable society. It has become a more viable alternative in areas where formal financial institutions are yet to reach.

Today, the BC-Sakhis in Bharat are self-reliant entrepreneurs, who are breaking socio-cultural barriers and stereotypes and uplifting their social standing. By facilitating last mile delivery of financial services, in an assisted mode, these women entrepreneurs are enabling seamless transactions and principally functioning as bankers in their areas.

BC-Sakhis have been instrumental in furthering the social and economic inclusion of Bharat by inducting first-time women customers, who are usually financially unaware and uninformed. With access to banking facilities within their reach, ownership and usage of bank accounts by women are gradually seeing an uptick. 

Fintechs, in partnership with various state governments, are working on upskilling women and teaching them how to offer financial and non-financial services to their communities so as to enable last-mile reach and provide tools to augment their family’s income.

Due to the extensive reach and influence of these women at the community level, fintechs are leveraging self-help groups and converting women into bank agents so that there is a BC-Sakhi at every nook and corner of the country.

Fintechs are empowering women in Bharat and promoting self-reliance and financial independence. They offer zero investment plans and waive business account opening fees, enabling more women to achieve financial independence and thrive as entrepreneurs. These initiatives inspire and engage rural women, encouraging them to actively participate in the formal economy.

Given the value they bring to the banking business and financial inclusion, it might be a prudent idea for banks to be mandated to hire a certain percentage of women BCs. This would go a long way in increasing their tribe as well as driving gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In that sense, the government’s proposal to increase the number of women BCs to 30% by 2027 (from less than 10% now) is a step in the right direction. The ‘one BC-Sakhi in every gram panchayat’ initiative and other rural-centric efforts are expected to create a pool of 1.25 lakh trained and certified women BCs across the country by the end of 2023-24.

 Right from collecting deposits and disbursing credit to selling micro-insurance and mutual funds and promoting savings and other products, BC-Sakhis are doing it all. Additionally, by providing various sachetised digital services, such as e-commerce, online education, travel and recharges, they are assisting communities and making their catchments equipped for the future, while generating a sustainable livelihood for themselves.

In short, by transforming the social and economic fabric of the nation, BC-Sakhis are empowering Bharat and helping bring everything at the last mile under the umbrella of financial inclusion—one woman at a time.

(The author is the MD & CEO of PayNearby, a hyperlocal fintech network.)