Meet Shantha - The Woman From Kerala Who's Given Her Entire Village A Way To Sustain Themselves

When women are thrive, communities thrive. We're happy to share this story today about Shantha from southern India, whose passion lifted up an entire group of women and all the lives they touched.

Shantha began by taking a volunteer job--while women are legally equal in India; they still face inequalities in work, salary, education and more. She networked and learned while volunteering for the government, and eventually learned about microfinance, in which several people can come together, contributing money and approaching a bank for a loan as a group. After working to build a microfinance group, Shantha and her co-entrepreneurs got a loan from the bank--and eventually connected with a larger company, earning even more money and notoriety. The more Shantha and her group gain; the more they're able to help lift their families, give back to their neighborhood and community, improve their own safety and lives, and transform the world around them.

Click through to read more about Shantha and her journey, and keep supporting women's entrepreneurship and empowerment worldwide! 

indiatimes.com - Woman empowerment and entrepreneurship -- together -- are a sign of intensity and achieving independence. There are lot of challenges a woman has to still face: for example, striking a work-life balance chord in the perceived corporate culture scenario. Coming to rural India, there are many young faces which are making a difference to the society today.

Some of them have achieved success through their unprecedented talent, while others have made their mark by their contribution to the upliftment of the society, or just to meet their own ends. Whatever the channel of success, it has definitely given Indian rural society an edge. Today, we share with you an exemplary effort of a 53-year-old woman in Southern India who has inspired many women in her village, and the community at large.

An iron fist for the contemporary rural time - Shantha

When it comes to the rural community of India, the common perception of a lady doing the usual household chores incessantly is the image. Extend our perception to many women in India facing the flak of their husbands; unfortunately even violence and abuse are not unusual at all. Now, cut to an image of a 53-year old, who after many years of struggle and then, hard work, has made her way to achieve modest means for her family. Yes, she has a television, a fan, a bed - all that was unheard of in her poverty-stricken village. She has in fact lifted her whole village out of poverty -- backed by an incredible story of wit and courage.

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In India, successful female entrepreneurs are invited to speak only about women

Truly striving for gender equality should mean that women and men are asked to speak about most topics in their fields--like building a brand, raising capital, pitching--in similar numbers. And while more women have been invited to speak at recent events, it's usually about "expertise" related to one main aspect: being women. While issues surrounding being a woman and balancing family and work life are undoubtedly important, it's crucial to bring in more women speaking about every aspect of business and investing. Read below and click through for the whole story from Quartz India.

qz.com - In December, a friend who is also a public relations executive asked me if I could suggest the names of a few women entrepreneurs to speak at an event on India’s technology startups. “The client wants to include a discussion about women and entrepreneurship,” he said.

Since the event was only a few days away, I asked him to invite other women speakers at the event for this panel. But that wasn’t an option.

“We don’t have any women speakers so far,” he said. “That’s why we want to include a women-only panel.”

I should have guessed. The all-female panel was, as they often are, an afterthought.

Women are a rare sight at technology events in India. Unless there is a discussion on “managing family with work” or “how the industry accepts women.”

Questions on innovation and business are usually reserved for their male counterparts.

For instance, in January, the Indian government hosted its first-ever “Startup India” event and invited five women entrepreneurs for a 30-minute panel called “Celebrating women: Stories of innovative women entrepreneurs.” The discussion during this session revolved around the advantages women bring to the startup industry, and how women should deal with questions about marriage.

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Lighting the Way to Women’s Economic Empowerment

Sustainable development has to include--and encourage--the contributions of women worldwide. One company is seeing the financial and social profitability in embracing the idea. ONergy, a renewable energy venture in eastern India, is helping to introduce solar power to East and Northeast India while partnering with women in training programs that educate and empower the local entrepreneurs to promote the products throughout the region. The company plans to introduce clean, reliable energy to 1 million people by 2017 and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 100,000 tons. The company has already trained more than 5,000 women and plans to reach out to 50,000 in the next three years, training them on ONergy's technology and features as well as partnering with organizations like NGOs and microfinance institutions to help women gain knowledge to enter the entrepreneurial world and support their families and communities.

Read more about the venture below and at the link.

3blmedia.com - The women of East and Northeast India no longer need to fear the dark. ONergy, an award-winning social enterprise, has developed a number of innovative energy solutions that not only address the dearth of electricity in the region – improving safety in their communities – but also light a path toward economic empowerment for women.

ONergy’s innovative solar power solutions are providing energy to meet India’s development and social challenges. To promote solar as a clean and reliable source of energy, the company is training women entrepreneurs in its products’ technology, usability and special features. By partnering with local grassroots organizations – microfinance institutions, NGOs and women’s self-help groups – the company is imparting product know-how while also enabling these women to serve as company distributors – providing both income and empowerment.

“Lack of energy is an important bottleneck to development. And women are the central force in the development of their families and the shaping of the next generation,” says Piyush Jaju, CEO of ONergy. “ONergy’s products provide environmental benefits by reducing the use of diesel generators, kerosene and other harmful energy sources – and empower women to help shape a brighter tomorrow.”

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Women-led Startups in India Face Discrimination from Investors?

Despite a patriarchal attitude that persists throughout much of the country and negative stereotypes when it comes to women in business, there has been rise of female entrepreneurship in India in recent decades. However, there is a long way to go, and women still struggle to obtain funding in an investing and business world dominated by men--and biased attitudes. Only 9 percent of the 800 or so startups founded each year in India are led by women. thequint.com - It was a cracking idea. The market was ready and she could gauge a customer base. The research was air-tight and she found a team that agreed to work. But, the problem was with her. She was a woman and that matters in the exclusive, harsh, male-dominated world of investors.

More than 800 startups join the Indian ecosystem every year. On an average, three to four startups are registered every day. The figures may be celebratory in nature, but out of this, only 9 percent are led by women.

Sounds unlikely but in the business world, even company heads need to pass a "sex-determination test". Many women founders and startup leads in India accept that they face gender-discrimination from venture capitalists and investors during funding.

Thirty-one-year-old Priyanka Agrawal always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

"I had a 'keeda' within me to prove to a typical Indian Marwari mindset that women can build a source of income independently through their own ventures. When I decided to start something of my own, the one and only rule I made was to not take help from my dad."

Read more here.