As part of their Women Connect Challenge India, the Reliance Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have chosen ten organisations from throughout India. The Reliance Foundation has committed Rs 8.5 crore (over $1.1 million USD) of its Rs 11 crore (over $1.5 million USD) to programmes aimed at addressing the country's gender digital divide. By improving their economic empowerment through technology, such projects are expected to help about 3 lakh (300,000) women and girls throughout 17 states.
Anudip Foundation, Barefoot College International, Centre for Youth and Social Development, Friends of Women's World Banking, Naandi Foundation, Professional Assistance for Development Action, Society for Development Alternatives, Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre, TNS India Foundation, and ZMQ Development are among the grantees for this initiative. The solutions are focused at overcoming social and cultural barriers to help women farmers, entrepreneurs, and members of self-help groups cross the gender digital divide.
“It has been our mission to enable and empower women in every walk of life. When we launched Jio, we envisioned a digital revolution that will be an equal opportunity revolution,” said Nita M Ambani, Founder-Chairperson, Reliance Foundation. She highlighted Jio’s role in providing affordable connectivity across the country. She further added, “Reliance Foundation has also been working in partnership with USAID towards bridging the gender digital divide in India. Technology is a powerful means to address and eliminate inequality.” Mrs Ambani also congratulated the winners of the WomenConnect Challenge India.
In August of 2020, the WomenConnect Challenge India was announced. Ten organisations were chosen from a pool of over 180 applicants and given funding ranging from INR 75 lakhs to 1 crore ($100,000 – $135,000) for a period of 12 to 15 months. In January 2021, USAID and the Reliance Foundation collaborated to conduct a Solvers Symposium, which brought together semi-finalists and external experts for capacity building and brainstorming on India's gender digital divide.
