Building Value Chains led by SHG Women through Community Institutions of the NRLM – The Unnat Agri-business Enterprise Model

Rural women are predominantly employed in agriculture, which typically provides meagre returns and only seasonal employment opportunities. Moreover, they have low agency in economic decisions, work choices, independent mobility, public participation, and limited access to resources. The Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MPSRLM) is being implemented as per the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India’s decision to reach out to the poorest of the poor households for their economic and social empowerment. Since 2022, MPSRLM has collaborated with its implementation and technical partners, IMAGO Global Grassroots and SEWA (Self-employed Women’s Association), to implement a women-led, value-chain-based solution, the Unnat enterprise model. This case expounds on the crucial associated aspects of the Unnat model with respect to its employment generation and capacity-building potential, women-led community involvement and ownership, and scalability via collaborative partnerships between the community, government, and civil society organizations.