The World Bank is implementing a pilot project in coordination with the Buddhist Circuit in South Asia program. The “Support to Women-led Social Enterprises in Lumbini” targets women entrepreneurs that have the proven ability to conduct and engage in their own business.

The project seeks to empower one hundred and twenty women economically and socially through the provisionment of  skill based and business focused training, gender based violence and mentorship related to finance, entrepreneurship and enterprise development. The project focuses on six sectors: honey, mushroom, tailoring, thatch grass (handicrafts) and Dhaka weaving. The training sessions will provide technical support to the entrepreneurs to develop their businesses as well as on how to access the market attracting customers, and introducing new ideas for business development. 

In order to further support the development of the businesses and enhance the market penetration, the provisionment of basic smartphones were provided to the entrepreneurs. To ensure the entrepreneurs have the capacity to properly operate the phones as well as have the capacity to conduct business, digital literacy classes were provided. To further supplement the move to online marketplaces, bank accounts were opened up, and the entrepreneurs were registered and instructed on how to operate money transfer apps.