Stitching a Future: The Journey of Anita Mourya
“I want to expand my business and create more jobs for people.”
These are the determined words of Anita Mourya, a self-taught artisan from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to return to her village, uncertainty loomed large. With little more than a needle, thread, and sheer resilience, Anita began embellishing sarees and bedspreads with intricate embroidery and hand-stitched stones—each piece a labor of love, crafted by candlelight through frequent power cuts.
“I would stitch each stone manually, often working late into the night. It was slow, painstaking work that limited how much I could produce,” she recalls.
Anita’s story is not unique. Across rural India, countless women and young people brim with ambition yet lack the resources or opportunities to turn their dreams into lasting enterprises.
A Critical Juncture: India’s Workforce Challenge
India is at a turning point. With 67% of its population in the working-age group, over 100 million young people are set to enter the workforce by 2030. However, the job market is already struggling to accommodate this surge, particularly in rural areas where barriers such as caste, gender, and economic disparity restrict access to employment.
For many women, the challenge extends beyond finding work—it’s about gaining the social acceptance to work at all. In deeply traditional communities, stepping out to earn a living often feels like breaking the rules. The need for systemic solutions that empower individuals to create their own opportunities has never been greater.
A Revolutionary Approach to Entrepreneurship
Anita’s life changed when she discovered an initiative that promised more than just employment—it offered the tools to build something of her own.
In 2016, the Delhi-based social enterprise Development Alternatives launched the ‘Inclusive Entrepreneurship’ programme with one transformative goal: to turn job seekers into job creators. Instead of merely facilitating employment, the programme focuses on building entrepreneurial ecosystems—support networks that help individuals start and grow their own businesses.
A Unique Model Rooted in Social Innovation
“Inclusive entrepreneurship is about more than just starting businesses. It’s about creating a thriving economy where millions of job seekers become job makers, prioritizing social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and economic growth,” says Shrashtant Patara, CEO of Development Alternatives Group.
What sets this programme apart is its deep community-driven approach:
- Deep Listening: The journey begins with immersive listening sessions using creative tools like comic workshops. These sessions help participants visualize their entrepreneurial dreams and explore viable business ideas in an engaging way.
- Unleashing Entrepreneurial Energies: Initiatives like Kaun Banega Business Leader (Who Will Be the Business Leader) transform ideas into actionable business plans, fostering confidence and innovation.
- Bridging the Last Mile with udyaME Kiosks: These physical centres provide technical, financial, and market-related support to rural entrepreneurs, helping them navigate essential business requirements like documentation, market linkages, and capacity-building.
Driving Systemic Change One Entrepreneur at a Time
Despite the struggles she faced, Anita never stopped dreaming. Through the Inclusive Entrepreneurship programme, she gained access to resources that helped her scale her business. One of the most impactful changes? Two handheld embroidery machines that drastically reduced production time.
“What once took me hours to complete can now be done in minutes,” Anita says with a smile.
With increased efficiency, Anita expanded her business beyond Mirzapur to Varanasi and Ghazipur, doubling her monthly income and securing her children’s future. Today, she’s focused on enhancing her online presence and creating more jobs in her community.
Scaling Impact: A Movement Beyond One Story
Anita is just one of many success stories. Since its inception, the Inclusive Entrepreneurship programme has:
- Helped establish over 15,000 enterprises across 478 villages, including Mirzapur, Bahraich, and Bundelkhand.
- Created 26,000 jobs for rural women and youth.
- Increased annual revenue for participating entrepreneurs by 65%.
Women are now leading enterprises in industries ranging from handicrafts to e-rickshaw services and farmer producer companies. The initiative is breaking stereotypes, fostering financial independence, and reshaping the economic landscape of rural India.
Building Self-Sustaining Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
The Development Alternatives Group is not just supporting individual businesses—it is laying the foundation for self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystems. By connecting institutions, stakeholders, and entrepreneurs, the initiative is opening access to credit, markets, and critical resources, especially for women.
A key component of this effort is the District Entrepreneurship Coalition (DEC)—a platform that fosters collaboration among local stakeholders to develop scalable, sustainable solutions. With models that integrate renewable energy and digital technology, rural entrepreneurs are transforming their collectives into thriving production hubs.
Scaling Up: The Road to 2030
While the programme’s impact is already significant, the vision is even grander. By 2030, Development Alternatives aims to:
- Establish 100,000 women-led enterprises.
- Launch 1,000 women-driven e-rickshaw services in Uttar Pradesh.
- Generate 1 million jobs.
To achieve this, the programme is partnering with women’s institutions such as Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Cluster Level Federations (CLFs), alongside global partners like the Gates Foundation, Bajaj Finserv, and Work4Progress (launched in collaboration with la Caixa Foundation).
The Future of Work: A New Narrative for Rural India
“We want to ensure that anyone with a unique experience can build a library of livelihoods for themselves,” says Kanika Verma, Lead–Green and Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Associate Vice President at Development Alternatives Group.
Instead of asking, What will the future of work look like? this initiative flips the narrative: You can shape your own future by becoming an entrepreneur.
Through collaboration, strategic partnerships, and a shared vision for inclusive growth, Development Alternatives is proving that the key to India’s economic transformation lies not in creating more jobs—but in creating more job creators.
For women like Anita, this isn’t just a livelihood. It’s a movement. And it’s just getting started.