Programme stream
Moving women from self-help group membership into ownership of real, market-facing enterprises.
WCS is dedicated to the upliftment of underprivileged women and children through education, skill development, healthcare and nutrition support. Most rural women in Karnataka work as daily wage earners or small landholders, and many enterprising women have taken up SHG membership — but most SHGs remain confined to micro-finance activity. These are precisely the people best placed to run MSME activity within their own villages, and our work is about making that transition possible.
10 programmes
Linking SHG members to Common Facility Centres, which in turn build an MSME culture in the village. SHG women are the project stakeholders; a Special Purpose Vehicle implements the project under WCS and VKF guidance and provides leased land; government schemes fund the centre. Each beneficiary can then use the shared facility to raise the value of her own product.
A customised cohort providing mentorship, business development and investment access. WCS and VKF ran a baseline survey to assess ground realities and individual needs, delivered structured soft-skill training, and put participants through cohort readiness training — preparing, sharpening and rehearsing their pitches before facing investors and mentors.
Outcome 273 selected women entrepreneurs supported through the cohort
An initiative that addresses women's reliance on male family members for economic support by helping them establish local businesses. Targeting women from low-income families, it provides seed funding, branding, marketing, market research, mentorship, government scheme navigation and exposure opportunities — from mobilisation and selection through training, seed grants for toolkits, and ongoing mentorship with regular evaluation.
Outcome 100+ women entrepreneurs have started businesses with WCS handholding
Technical advice on common branding at national and international level, brand building with expert support, e-commerce and marketplace listings, linkages to modern format stores and corporate brands, social media entry, and brand promotion across print and electronic media.
Hands-on training under the Stree Samarthya Yojana covering materials and equipment, the basic chemistry and method of liquid soap making, safety, oils and colouring, fragrance, the hot process method, trendy packaging options, troubleshooting, branding and cost calculation.
A livelihood skill training programme and garment production unit for SHG women in Bangalore Rural, built through partnership with local government departments and community-based organisations, and tailored to local needs.
Structured exposure visits taking women entrepreneurs into CFTRI Mysore to learn food technology and value addition techniques first-hand.
Working with NRLM Technical Support Agencies to provide baseline data and artisan handholding for eight women-led micro clusters in Karnataka: Belgaum Shahapur Sarees, Chikkaballapur Leather Products, Kinnal Toys, Koppal Kowdi, Molakalmuru Silk Sarees, Mysore Agarabatthi, Navalgund Carpets and Shidlaghatta Sarees.
Outcome About 10,000 artisans benefitting from this intervention
Preserving and promoting the social and economic wellbeing of weavers and crafts persons from the poorest classes, especially tribal communities, through marketing of handicrafts, skill upgradation, education and health — and creating a dedicated space for crafts and textiles from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Working with tribal women around Bandipur on tailoring, fisheries, milk dairy, agricultural produce for the sprouts business and biogas plant installation.
Other programme streams
Bridging the digital divide for rural and semi-urban youth, and turning training into employment.
Livelihood pathways for the people development programmes most often miss.
Permanent technology hubs at Panchayat level, each serving 15–20 neighbouring villages.
Whether you are a CSR team looking for a delivery partner, a government mission seeking implementation on the ground, or a foundation funding rural enterprise — we would like to hear from you.