UNFPA partnered with Mission Shakti, one of the flagship programmes of the Government of Odisha, to bridge gender, financial, digital, and social gaps by strengthening the Mission Shakti Women Self-Help Group (WSHG) network. This partnership is furthering women’s social and economic empowerment in the state by promoting digital and financial literacy among WSHG members, while also providing them with information on key aspects of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
Over the past three years, the initiative has built and strengthened the capacities of more than 600,000 SHG women across the state by:
- Building digital and financial literacy
- Raising awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Addressing gender-based violence
To achieve this, both e-learning content and a physical in-person training toolkit were developed. A user-friendly, dynamic, interactive, and self-facilitative Android mobile application-based Learning Management System (LMS) has been deployed and securely hosted on the AWS cloud. The LMS, available in both English and Odia, offers 44 videos covering the thematic areas and supports three levels of users—Master Trainers, DigiShakti Trainers, and Learners. Additionally, 285 women have been trained as Master Trainers, who are supporting a cascade model of training across the state. By May 2025, the LMS had already registered over 9,000 DigiShakti Trainers, with trainings underway across 15 priority districts. An online support unit, including a dedicated helpline, has been established in Bhubaneswar to offer real-time technical assistance, track progress, monitor training quality, and provide regular feedback through a web-based dashboard system.
