Launches New Services at Sakhi Milan Event in Azamgarh to Boost Income for BC Sakhis & Women Entrepreneurs
PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital network, expanded its Digital Naari initiative at the Sakhi Milan event in Azamgarh, held in collaboration with the Grameen Foundation for Social Impact. The event introduced new services to enable BC Sakhis and women entrepreneurs across Bharat, enhancing their income opportunities and access to essential financial and digital solutions. These enhanced offerings—savings accounts, healthcare, and hygiene solutions—will boost income opportunities while improving access to essential services for underserved women.
With over 60,000 women actively transacting across 10,000+ PIN codes, Digital Naari is transforming financial and digital access for Bharat’s women. More than 60% of them are first-time entrepreneurs, earning around ₹3,000–5,000 per month, many balancing this work with farming or small family businesses. Around 25–30% have even set up dedicated Digital Service Kendras. Impressively, 65% of these women continue to scale their businesses beyond the first year, showing that the program is creating long term sustainability and impact.
The Digital Naari initiative is dedicated to supporting women with sustainable livelihoods while extending access to banking and essential services in underserved communities. Through strategic partnerships, PayNearby Digital Naari is broadening its service portfolio, equipping women entrepreneurs with the tools to drive greater financial and social transformation.
To drive financial inclusion, Digital Naari has partnered with NSDL Payments Bank to enable women to seamlessly open Savings Accounts, creating a win-win opportunity for both women agents and customers. While women customers benefit from secure savings, habitual banking practices, and interest earnings, women agents can expand their service offerings, attract more customers, and generate additional income by facilitating account openings within their communities. This initiative not only strengthens financial security but also enhances the economic independence of women across Bharat.
With M-Swasth, Digital Naari is bringing affordable and quality healthcare to underserved communities through a network of 3,000+ specialized e-clinics. Families can now access 24×7 digital OPD consultations, unlimited video tele-checkups, and direct access to 22 specialist doctors, ensuring continuous medical support. Additionally, the initiative provides free prescribed medicines at M-Swasth e-clinics and offers healthcare coverage for up to six family members for one year. By making essential healthcare services more accessible and cost-effective, this partnership strengthens last-mile healthcare delivery, ensuring timely medical attention for those who need it most.
In collaboration with Miry, PayNearby is making menstrual hygiene products more accessible and affordable. By providing cost-effective sanitary pads, this initiative ensures better health and promotes overall well-being. It also creates an additional income stream for women agents, reinforcing their financial independence. By integrating hygiene solutions into the Digital Naari platform, PayNearby is addressing a critical social need while supporting women entrepreneurs.
Commenting on the launch, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, said, “At PayNearby, we believe that true financial inclusion goes beyond banking—it’s about creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. Through Digital Naari, we are not just providing services but empowering women to become economic catalysts in their communities. These new offerings will enable BC Sakhis and women entrepreneurs across Bharat to expand their businesses, improve earnings, and uplift those around them. Our goal is to ensure that every woman, no matter where she is, has the resources and confidence to be financially independent.”
Adding to this, Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby & Program Director, Digital Naari, said, “Women are the backbone of our economy, and through Digital Naari, we are ensuring that they have access to opportunities that enable them to lead a better life. Surveys have shown time and again, that more than 90% of women prefer financial guidance from other women, reinforcing the need for strong female community influencers. By integrating savings, healthcare, and hygiene services into our platform, we are not just expanding the income streams for our Digital Naaris, but also enabling them to drive change at the grassroots level. The future of Bharat’s economy is deeply tied to the success of its women, and we are committed to accelerating this movement.”
Bharati Joshi, CEO, Grameen Foundation for Social Impact”said “At Grameen Foundation for Social Impact, we understand that financial inclusion is about more than just access—it’s about agency, opportunity, and respect. To ensure full financial inclusion, we need to change the system and not the women, while investing in HER power. Through our collaboration with PayNearby and the expansion of the Digital Naari initiative, we are enabling spaces and creating opportunities for women to exercise their energy as financial agents of change in their communities. By innovative integration of savings, healthcare, and hygiene solutions into their service offerings, women are not only enhancing their earning potential but also reinforcing their ability to drive social transformation at the grassroots level. Women are key to unlocking Bharat’s economic future, and together, we are building pathways for millions to thrive.”
Through Digital Naari, PayNearby is building a sustainable micro-entrepreneurial ecosystem, where women influencers are trained and equipped to offer essential financial and digital services in their communities. With the flexibility to operate from home or a store, these women can choose services based on local demand, ensuring both livelihood generation for themselves and greater financial inclusion for the women they serve. By expanding its portfolio with savings, healthcare, and hygiene solutions, PayNearby remains committed to powering 2+ crore Lakhpati Didis by 2030, strengthening Bharat’s digital and financial landscape in the process.
- Source – PayNearby
- Published Date – March 6, 2025
