Lok Swasthya Mandali is one of the 106 cooperatives that are part of Self-Employed Women Association (SEWA) in India. It started operations in 1990 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with the objective of providing health information and products with a preventive focus at a low cost at women’s doorsteps. To date, LSM runs two primary business lines: (a) manufacturing of ayurvedic and allopathic products and (b) pharmacy business. Within the first branch, LSM operates through two channels: third-party manufacturing (Kayan Enterprises, Tribhuvandas Foundation), and direct “door-to-door” sales through female community health workers known as sakhis, which represent about 2 percent of LSM total sales.
Although a larger share of revenue for LSM comes from their pharmacy and third-production business, it is with its second line – “door-to-door” sales that can help a larger number of women, and therefore, to their households. To increase the revenues for the sakhis, LSM has designed three interventions: (a) a product training, aim to help the sakhis to have a better knowledge of all the products offered by LSM, as well as their benefits; (b) a sales training, to help women to improve their communication skills and be able to reach more customers assertively; and (c) a new incentive structure to motivate sakhis to increase their sales target.
As part of the IMAGO team, I participated as an observer of the sales training. Around 30 women were selected for the training, which took place in one of the SEWA buildings in Gujarat. During the full-day workshop, women learn how to improve their sales pitch and participated in role-play exercises.
The effectiveness of these incentives will be evaluated by IMAGO using a mixed-method evaluation which includes semi-structured interviews with LSM sakhis and surveys on their monthly earnings.