Free service equips small businesses to sell digitally

ManaHprasAda, teaches home entrepreneurs how to harness the power of social media

A single mother has started an organisation to enable digital literacy among the underprivileged.

“I was inspired by the life stories I heard during the pandemic,” says Hima Bindu, who works for an IT company. She launched her group, ManaHprasAda, in February.

Turning 39 amid the pandemic pushed her to see how she could give back to society.

The idea of spreading digital literacy came to her when she was talking to Suguna N, a terracotta jewellery designer, who had ended up with no source of income during the pandemic.

“I realised that digital literacy was lacking. You no longer need brick and mortar shops anymore, but people are ignorant about how to sell their products on Instagram and WhatsApp,” says Hima.

She sets aside a few hours every day to help such artisans, “instead of bingeing on Netflix.” She teaches them how to use social media to sell. Hima shares the example of Sujatha, a home chef, who had stopped cooking as she was not receiving many orders. ManaHprasAda created a simple form and uploaded it on Sujatha’s Instagram page. Thanks to the initiative, she was able to get enough money to supply about 1,500 free meals to pourakarmikas and construction workers. She is also working with a tailor to provide free masks along with these meals.

The group also collaborated with Div n Dee Dance Company to raise funds to feed 600 community dogs for a month. It has tied up with Vasantha Vaikunt, founder of Lifenliving.org, to provide free one-on-one counselling sessions. Hima only asks that people donate their time. “We help small entrepreneurs create a catalogue so that users know who they are and connect with them,” she says.

There are many challenges involved, as the degree of digital literacy varies.

Resistance to digital literacy, she says, is widespread. “They keep saying it is difficult and ask me to take care of it, but that will become a full-time job if I take it up,” she says. The group helps in simple ways, teaching the basics of how a platform works and suggesting the best time to post product pitches.

Volunteers sometimes stand in as models to display products. “We buddy them with someone who can teach and then let them do it all themselves,” says Hima, a resident of Lingarajapuram.

ManaHprasAda can be contacted at [e-mail]