Dharavi is the hub of numerous small-scale thriving businesses run by men and women. One of these businesses is the Lijjat Papad Company (LPC), which is run predominantly by women who make papad. LPC requires their employees to open a savings account, where a portion of their salary (2 Rs per every 32 Rs) is deposited. However, numerous women micro-entrepreneurs do not do this; many of them have their household money used up by spouses who spend it on gambling and substance abuse, the others are afraid to go because they fear that the banks do not respect them, often showing advertising that feature men as primary breadwinners. These factors make them turn to unreliable schemes like the chit fund, which allows groups to pool their money together and pay out one member with a lottery every few month. Mudari Tiwari and Deepti KC are trying to change this. In a novel idea, they have introduced a series of comic books that are relatable to these women; showing them their possible financial dilemmas and how to overcome them.

HG: How did you feel the need for this comic book?

KC and Tiwari: In 2012-13, we followed the lives of 25 women in Dharavi for two months to study their saving behavior. Despite having bank accounts, these women entrepreneurs were not using the banking services. They preferred using the informal financial services such as Chit Funds or moneylenders. They perceived that banks might not accept their small savings and found banking systems threatening. They were struggling to save money as well. That is when we were convinced that women needed financial counseling to address the psychological barriers they face about savings and using banking services.

HG: Why did you choose a comic book as your medium?

KC and Tiwari: We looked at different Financial Literacy materials used by financial institutions and found them preachy and very generic. Hence, we decided to design financial education modules using an interactive comic book depicting the life of the women entrepreneurs. The characters were carefully crafted using real life stories from women’s lives - challenges that women in Dharavi faced and how they overcome these financial challenges. These comic books provided a point of reference that women entrepreneurs could use as a comparison to analyze their own financial behaviors.

HG: What was the process of creating the book and how did you go about getting it published?

KC and Tiwari: We had received funding from the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI), University of California for our initiative. First, we learned about women’s financial lives. Then we created the content based on the real life stories collected from the field. We worked with illustrators - “Creative Rats”, and published the stories in a digital format.

HG: What kind of feedback have you experienced from readers?

KC and Tiwari: One of the suggestions that women provided during our research phase was they do not like most generic Financial Literacy materials because these materials often show women as secondary actors standing behind men, while men are shown as primary actors in charge of financial decision making . We changed that by making women as our main characters, keeping in mind the local context, language, and day-to-day challenges faced by women.
Because our stories are based on real life incidences, we did not hesitate to highlight dilemmas that one of our characters face while using banking services. Women could relate to this.

HG: How has your target group been impacted? What would you characterize as the strength of this series?

KC and Tiwari: Yes, there was an 8% increase in savings. One inspiring result was there was a ripple effect of education. Women started speaking about finances with their husbands and engaged their children to save along with them. The children encouraged their parents to save and also explained the latest savings initiatives in the market to their parents.

HG: Is the book available in multiple languages?

KC and Tiwari: Currently it’s in Hindi. We plan on releasing these books in different regional languages.
The work is available in digital and print formats. “ We are hoping that NGOs and financial institutions working directly with women use these materials to discuss financial products and services with women,” said KC.

You can find materials here for Women Entrepreneurs and Migrant workers. The comic book is also available in the iBook format and a PDF download can be used digitally across devices.