Project Shakti is a program run by Unilever that has helped thousands of women and men gain employment that provides them with the means to support themselves and their families.

Aimed primarily at empowering women by providing a way for them to gain meaningful employment, the project has created a network of thousands of small time entrepreneurs who sell various types of products throughout India and other parts of Asia.

With a high percentage of India living in villages, Unilever realized that their traditional distribution channels would not suffice in the Indian market. They created Project Shakti as a business response, but in the process have allowed nearly 100,000 people in India alone to gain access to a livable wage.

Project Shakti is part of a larger push by Unilever as part of its Sustainable Living Plan to create and improve the incomes of 5 million small-scale retailers in their distribution network. They will report on their progress on this target in 2015.

To learn more about how Unilever is supporting small scale retailers click here.