29 Percent Women Economically Active In India: Report

"Women with right support can bring change in the economy," Blair said.

"I have been overwhelmed by the success of the RUDI Sandesha Vyavhar (RSV) project in Gujarat in partnership with the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the Vodafone Foundation in India. Many of the women have been able to increase their income significantly, in some cases by as much as four times. With higher profits, they have been able to send their children to school and afford healthcare," she said.

The Rural Distribution Network or RUDI is an initiative established by the SEWA reaches to 1.1 million households and provides income for 3,000 women. The women in RUDI now use RSV platform to submit their orders via SMS on a basic phone. The system also enable women in RUDI organisation to track and manage stock levels in real time and it has been piloted with oer 1,500 women.

These women in RUDI were able to increase their income by up to 300 percent. The system was developed through a collaboration between SEWA, the Vodafone Foundation in India and tHe Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Since the programme started in 2012, it has been piloted with over 1,500 women. In 2014, the solution is being rolled out to more districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan with the aim of reaching out to 4,500 direct beneficiaries in total by 2016 and potentially thousands more as families and communities benefit from the success of the businesses.

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