Published Report | Catalysts (IFMR Lead) & PRICE

Over the past few years there have been concerted efforts in India and globally towards improving financial access and inclusion, resulting in achievements in terms of improved ownership of bank accounts. As per the latest Global FINDEX report, while 80 percent of India’s population now has a bank account, only 52 percent demonstrate any sustained use (over the past 12 months) of their accounts. The next line of innovation and effort will have to focus on improving use of financial products and services that meet the needs of different population sub-groups. This report closely examines a sample of Home-based Businesses (HBBs) in Jaipur, and draws out potential pain-points in business operations, patterns of financial habits, and avenues where digital technology can play a role to foster greater financial inclusion.

In India, understanding the HBB segment is crucial for achieving greater parity in gendered access to finance as home-based work is an important avenue for women to earn livelihoods. Thirty-two percent of women in India in non-farm work are home-based workers while the comparable proportion of men is much smaller at 11 percent. Within home-based work, some take entrepreneurial risk and are self-employed, also known as own account work, i.e., operating HBBs with no employees. Another type of home-based work consists of sub-contracted work which relies for work from a firm or its contractors.3 Within home-based work, own account work is the main form of employment.

Principal Investigators: Badal Malick and Rajesh Shukla

Co-Investigators: Megha Shree and Vaisnavi Gnanasekaran

Supporting Research Team: Pratibha Joshi and Harsh Nisar