ET MSME Awards 2025: How SEWA is driving India’s MSME ecosystem

Royalty-free image of industrial textile factory with Indian women workers at sewing machines | Photo by EqualStock IN

Each week, the ET MSME Awards will feature an industry association that has played a critical role in India’s growth story. This week, we celebrate SEWA. Register now to nominate yourself or someone you know for our ‘Indian MSME Women Entrepreneur of the Year’ category.

Meera Patel still remembers the day she first walked into a SEWA meeting in Ahmedabad, clutching her worn cloth bag and feeling completely out of place. As a vegetable vendor who could barely read, she never imagined she'd one day own a food processing unit employing 12 women from her neighbourhood.


"I used to think only the rich did business," she laughs, stirring a massive pot of chunda in her spotless facility. "I didn't know selling aachaar (pickle) was also a business."

Meera's transformation mirrors that of nearly three million women whose lives have been reshaped by the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA). What began as a small trade union in Gujarat has become one of India's most powerful engines for micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) development, proving that the country's economic growth story isn't just about tech startups and corporate giants.

Making the invisible visible
When Ela Bhatt founded SEWA in 1972, she was tackling a problem that policymakers barely acknowledged: millions of women working in India's informal economy were completely invisible to the formal financial system. These women—caterers, fruitsellers, seamstresses, domestic workers, and construction labourers—formed the backbone of local economies yet had no access to credit, insurance, or business support.

"We were nobody," recalls Kamalaben, a 58-year-old member who now runs a successful garment cooperative. "Banks wouldn't talk to us. Government schemes weren't for us. We were working and earning, but we didn't exist."

Today, SEWA represents nearly two million workers across 12 states, making it one of the world's largest trade unions of informal workers. But its real innovation lies in recognising that these women weren't just workers: they were entrepreneurs waiting for their moment in the sun.

Building business, not just jobs
Unlike traditional microfinance organisations that simply provide loans, SEWA created an entire ecosystem for women's entrepreneurship. The organisation operates through an integrated model combining trade union advocacy, cooperative formation, capacity building, and financial services.

Take childcare, for instance. SEWA's childcare cooperatives have helped more than 400 women find regular work as care providers. But this isn't just about employment — it's about creating sustainable businesses that address genuine community needs while generating income.

SEWA realised early on that women need more than just credit. They need skills, markets, support systems, and most importantly, they need to see themselves as entrepreneurs, not just workers.

The cooperative revolution
The SEWA Cooperative Federation now empowers 112 women's collectives across diverse sectors, from traditional crafts and food processing to transportation and technology. These aren't charity projects; they're legitimate businesses competing in real markets.

Suman Devi's story illustrates this transformation. Once dependent on daily wage labour, she now owns and operates an e-rickshaw service that employs other women. Her transition from employee to employer happened through SEWA's integrated support system that provided training, financing, and ongoing business mentorship.

"The difference is dignity," Suman says. "When you work for someone else, you're always asking for permission. When you own your business, you make decisions."

Breaking banking barriers
Perhaps SEWA's most significant achievement has been proving that poor women are excellent credit risks. The Mahila SEWA Urban Cooperative Thrift & Credit Society, established after years of bureaucratic struggles, has maintained repayment rates exceeding 95%.

This success challenged fundamental assumptions about informal and micro sector lending. By treating women as stakeholders rather than mere borrowers, SEWA demonstrated that financial inclusion could be both profitable and empowering.

Beyond individual success
The impact extends far beyond individual entrepreneurs. When women gain economic independence, they invest heavily in their families' health, education, and nutrition. This creates a multiplier effect that strengthens entire communities.

Government data shows that women-owned MSMEs constitute 20% of registered enterprises, though this likely underrepresents true participation since many women entrepreneurs operate informally. SEWA's model offers a pathway to formalisation that doesn't strip away the flexibility that informal sector workers need.

The ripple effect
What makes SEWA's approach powerful is its recognition that economic empowerment and social change are inseparable. When women organise into cooperatives, they don't just create businesses: they create platforms for challenging traditional gender roles and asserting economic rights.

Meera Patel's pickle-making unit exemplifies this broader transformation. Her business provides employment for women who were previously entirely dependent on their husbands' income. But perhaps more importantly, it has shifted power dynamics within families and communities.

"My husband used to say I was just passing time with SEWA," Meera recalls. "Now he helps me with the accounts!"

A model for the future
As India's economy continues evolving, SEWA's model offers crucial insights for policymakers and development practitioners. The organisation's success demonstrates that sustainable MSME development requires not just financial support, but also ecosystem building that addresses social, economic, and political barriers.

Five decades after its founding, SEWA continues proving that India's economic transformation isn't just about billion-dollar unicorns. It's about millions of women like Meera, transforming street corners into boardrooms, one small business at a time. In a country where women's economic participation remains constrained by deep-rooted barriers, SEWA's quiet revolution offers hope that inclusive growth isn't just possible — it's profitable.

The ET MSME Awards 2025, which has IDBI Bank as banking and lending partner, is open for nominations. Put yourself up for consideration before August 31, 2025.