Sunita Mane once earned 200 rupees a day managing cattle in Mandave village. Today, she runs her own hotel, turning her love for cooking chivda into a thriving business. The shift didn’t happen overnight — it began with a classroom on wheels and a year-long course that taught her how to manage money, market online, and run a business.
In rural India, many women have the skills to make goods but not the tools to sell them. That’s where the Mann Deshi Foundation stepped in. Based in Mhaswad, a small town in Maharashtra’s Satara district, the foundation launched the Deshi MBA in 2006 — a practical business course for women micro-entrepreneurs. It covers everything from budgeting and savings to digital marketing and inventory management. For women like Sunita, who studied only up to Class 7, this knowledge was life-changing.
The challenge was access. Many villages lack transport, and women are often expected to stay home. So Mann Deshi brought the classroom to them — on a bus. The Mobile Business School travels across remote villages, offering training in stitching, organic farming, beauty services, and more. In Virli village, the local council pays a small fee of 200 rupees per woman so they feel invested in the course. "Otherwise, their husbands would ask them to feed the cows midway through," says Shahin Mulani, who runs the mobile program.
Since 2012, the foundation has helped over 1 million women start or grow businesses. These aren’t just side hustles — 37 percent of them have hired others, creating 912,215 jobs, mostly for women. The training includes using WhatsApp Business, Instagram, and YouTube to reach customers. Last year alone, 1,205 women were added to e-commerce platforms, opening doors to national markets.
Digital access remains a hurdle. A UNDP study found only 35 percent of women in India own smartphones. But in Mhaswad, that gap is narrowing. Women now use apps to promote their products, apply for affordable bank loans, and track sales. The foundation also set up a Chamber of Commerce for Women in 2014, giving entrepreneurs a network and voice.
Vanita Shinde, head of the Women Empowerment Programme, says the goal is simple: help women keep their businesses alive. "Many wanted to start small businesses, but they shut down soon after," she says. Training in financial literacy — from savings to insurance — gives them the foundation to last.
Today, Sunita Mane doesn’t just cook chivda — she runs a business that feeds her family and fuels her confidence. And her story is no longer rare. Across Maharashtra, women are stepping into entrepreneurship, one mobile classroom at a time.