Samhita-CGF will use the USD$800,000 fund to create economic opportunities for women and girls amidst COVID-19 recovery

Maharashtra – Samhita – CGF has been named one of 34 selected organizations to receive funds from the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls. The $25 million philanthropy challenge was launched in March with a challenge to the global nonprofit community to submit their boldest and most innovative ideas to create a more equitable economic reality for women and girls.

The Google.org funding will strengthen the efforts Samhita-CGF launched in October 2020 via the REVIVE Alliance, one of the largest private sector and philanthropy-led alliances in India to help facilitate a long-term recovery of the informal sector, with a focus on women, youth, and other marginalized populations, whose livelihoods are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samhita-CGF is one of 9 Asia-Pacific projects selected for this funding cohort out of nearly 8,000 applications globally. In addition to funding, Samhita-CGF will participate in a four-month accelerator program led by Google’s Accelerator and Women Techmakers communities and Impact Challenge partner Vital Voices to move projects forward.

“With the help of Google.org Impact Challenge for Women & Girls, the REVIVE Alliance will be able to further our goal of providing access to finance to women in the informal sector who have been systematically excluded from the formal economy,” says Samhita-CGF founder, Priya Naik. “This capital and support comes at a critical time and will be used to provide returnable grants (a zero interest, zero collateral loan with a moral, not a legal, obligation to repay) and technical assistance for 10,000 women.”

“The pandemic has set back expected global gender parity by more than three decades. It’s vital that we elevate and support work that empowers women and girls to reach their full economic potential, especially in marginalized communities,” says Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org. “The pandemic recovery must be an inclusive one, and we know that when we invest in women and girls, we all benefit.”  

Google.org partnered with a women-led panel, including Prajakta Koli and gender equity-focused organizations Vital Voices and Project Everyone to evaluate proposals based on four key criteria: innovation, impact, feasibility, and scalability. The selected nonprofits have outlined projects that will help women and girls, especially those in geographically, economically, or socially marginalized populations, reach their full economic potential.