To reach over 10 million households through women-led assisted digital financial service networks
Gujarat is strengthening women-led livelihood efforts under the Lakhpati Didi mission, with a growing focus on helping rural and semi-urban women move from informal earnings to stable, structured income streams. As the emphasis shifts toward sustained last-mile income generation, PayNearby’s Digital Naari initiative, India’s leading branchless banking and digital financial services network, has set a target to onboard 1 lakh women across the state by FY28. The expansion aims to equip women with tools and training to earn steady commission-based income while bringing essential financial and digital services closer to their communities.
Women’s economic participation remains a key priority in public policy, with recent state and Union budgets reinforcing support for self-help groups and livelihood creation. The focus is steadily moving beyond enrolment in schemes toward enabling women to generate consistent and sustainable income within their own communities.
Digital Naari strengthens this ecosystem by equipping women with simple technology and structured training to deliver assisted financial and digital services within their own communities. Each Digital Naari, often known as a banker didi, offers essential services such as cash withdrawals, account opening, money transfers, bill payments, insurance, credit, health & hygiene services and mutual funds. Every transaction earns a commission, enabling women to build steady income while expanding access to essential services at the grassroots.
Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby and Program Director, Digital Naari, said, “The Digital Naari model is designed to generate steady and repeat income at the last mile. Women deliver essential, everyday services that households need year-round, which ensures consistent transactions and commission earnings. Nationally, over 1.5 lakh women associated with the platform collectively facilitate ₹10,000 crore annually. As we expand in Gujarat, our focus remains on building a sustainable, women-led service network that supports both livelihood growth and wider financial access.”
In Surat, Rekha Devi’s journey reflects how this transition unfolds at the grassroots. When her husband wanted to move into salaried employment and considered closing their services outlet, she chose to continue operations. After joining Digital Naari, she began offering assisted financial and digital services. Over time, the outlet’s monthly income grew steadily, supporting household expenses and strengthening her role as an independent earner within the family.
Since the programme’s launch, Digital Naari has expanded across 10,000+ PIN codes nationwide, onboarding over 1.5 lakh women. Collectively, they facilitate financial and digital transactions worth over ₹10,000 crore annually. More than 60 percent are first-time entrepreneurs earning commission-based income each month. The Gujarat expansion builds on this proven model to integrate more women into assisted digital service networks over the next three years.
To deepen its reach, PayNearby collaborates with State Rural Livelihood Missions, self-help group federations, microfinance institutions and non-governmental organisations. These partnerships help identify participants, provide training and connect them with formal financial systems.
As Gujarat advances the Lakhpati Didi mission, Digital Naari is strengthening service delivery at the grassroots. By combining accessible technology with income-linked service models, the programme enables more women to build steady earnings while expanding financial access within the formal economy.
- Source – PayNearby
- Published Date – February 26, 2026
