Digital Naari, Sashakt Naari: Soni’s Path to Financial Empowerment
In Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Soni’s journey reflects how digital finance can transform not just livelihoods, but confidence and leadership within communities. A 30-year-old general store owner, Self-Help Group (SHG) chairperson and Samuh Sakhi, Soni today supports dozens of women in accessing financial services and opportunities. But her journey began with significant financial and logistical challenges.
Before digital access became part of her life, even simple banking tasks were difficult. The nearest bank was nearly 15 kilometres away, requiring her to spend hours travelling, sometimes returning the next day when servers were down—just to confirm whether money had reached her account. Managing business payments was equally difficult. She would often withdraw ₹5,000 in cash for shop inventory, only to find that the total purchase came to ₹7,000, forcing her to leave goods behind and miss business opportunities.
Things began to change when Soni joined the Aarti Self-Help Group in 2018. Through the SHG ecosystem, she accessed her first loan of ₹50,000, which helped stabilise her family’s finances and eventually enabled her to reclaim jewellery she had earlier pawned to support her husband’s business. Later, a ₹2-lakh loan helped her build four small shops—today she runs her own general store from one, lives in another and rents out the remaining spaces.
With guidance from local programme leaders, Soni adopted digital payments through UPI. Today, digital transactions are central to how she runs her business—allowing instant payments for inventory purchases and enabling customers to pay seamlessly.
Beyond her own enterprise, Soni has emerged as a community enabler. As a Samuh Sakhi, she helps women open bank accounts, access loans and understand digital finance. When she first joined, there were only four SHGs in the area; today there are fourteen.
Her story captures the spirit of Digital Naari, Sashakt Naari, where access to financial tools empowers women not only to build their own futures, but also to guide others toward opportunity.
