The Hindu Business Line : HLL widens rural reach with 30,800 `Shakti' ambassadors

Mumbai May 18 Hindustan Lever Ltd has more than doubled its direct rural reach with 30,800 `Shakti' entrepreneurs covering 1-lakh villages in 15 States at the end of 2006.

The `Shakti' entrepreneurs are part of the FMCG company's Project Shakti, which provides a micro-enterprise opportunity for women from self-help groups (SHGs), making them independent women entrepreneurs as direct-to-home distributors of the company.

HLL will aim to reach 600 million consumers in five-lakh villages through one-lakh entrepreneurs by 2010.

In his speech at the company's annual general meeting on Friday, Mr Harish Manwani, Chairman, Hindustan Lever, said: "Project Shakti has played a significant role in aiding economic development in rural India.

"The Shakti brand endorsers are under-privileged rural women trained to manage businesses.''

With average earnings close to Rs 750 to Rs 2,500 per month, the initial pilots in 2001 has today resulted in a network of 35,000 entrepreneurs reaching 100 million rural consumers in 1-lakh villages.

Added Mr Manwani: "It is both a sales and a distribution initiative that delivers growth and a communication medium in the form of Shakti Vani, a programme that spreads awareness of health and hygiene and builds brands.''

With the purpose of increasing penetration and market shares for HLL brands, Project Shakti is already accounting for 15 per cent of HLL's rural business.

"Shakti is a win-win initiative that creates livelihoods and a social initiative that improves the standard of life and catalyses affluence in rural India.

"What makes Shakti uniquely scalable and sustainable is that it contributes not only to HLL but also to the larger interests of the community," he said.

Crossing over

Outlining the hurdles faced by the company, Mr Manwani says: "The first problem was size, as rural markets are scattered over large areas and per capita consumption rates were low.

The second was reach, as rural markets were not connected to the urban centres and road connectivity was poor.''

HLL thus decided to partner with micro-credit recipients by offering them opportunities for micro-enterprise, a result of which Project Shakti was born.

A member of a self-help group in each of the 50 chosen villages was appointed a Shakti entrepreneur, he said.

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