Enterprise Development Associate

Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a movement to empower women working in the informal economy. SEWA Bharat is part of the national SEWA movement. Established in 1984, it is a national federation of SEWA organizations of women working in the informal economy. SEWA Bharat emerged out of the need to address the SEWA movement’s challenges with geographical expansion and coordination. SEWA Bharat comprises a family of SEWA organizations to further informal women workers’ rights, livelihoods, financial independence, education, health and social security.

SEWA Bharat runs a programme to strengthen and build resilient women-owned collective enterprises which keep the shareholder i.e. the women worker at the centre of its operations, leadership and business model. SEWA Bharat is building an enterprise development team known as the Women’s Enterprise Support System (WESS) to help these collective enterprises scale, and become sustainable to ensure regular, continuous and dignified work for the women associated with the enterprise. WESS provides in-depth support to collective enterprises in the areas of access to finance, strategic planning, compliance, and marketing to make these enterprises profitable and sustainable in the long run. WESS has a small yet enthusiastic team of professionals who are passionate about promoting women’s economic empowerment with a network of industry mentors, working under the guidance of an advisory board of SEWA leaders and experts.

The WESS is looking for an Enterprise Development Associate who will assist women-owned collective enterprises in developing business plans, assisting with access to capital to enable business growth and providing support as needed on strengthening the business development & planning team.

Additionally, the candidate will be expected to work closely with the enterprises (both informal and formal) in the WESS cohort & support their capacity-building and business planning efforts. This position is based in New Delhi. Travel is mandatory for this role, to the location of the enterprise as and when required.

● Support training requirements of enterprises/ collectives:
○ Assess training gaps and coordinate training partnerships

● Assist enterprises/collectives in developing business plans:
○ Support cohort enterprises/collectives in developing business plans for current and future years
○ Consult with sector experts in the process of developing business plans; either existing ones or if needed look for new ones
○ Monitor effectiveness & implementation of business plans. Maintain reports and share on a monthly & quarterly basis
with the relevant stakeholders
○ Support collectives/ enterprises in reducing costs
○ Build networks and market linkages for enterprises and collectives

● Linking Cohort enterprises/collectives to capital:
○ Identify the need for capital and potential sources of capital (private, bank, government) Assist enterprises/collectives end to end
in the process of getting capital
○ Monitor usage of capital and assess the impact of investment
○ Assist the enterprise/collective in timely planning & calculation for working capital. The business associate will be expected to
lead this exercise for the enterprise

● Assist in developing the business vertical at WESS:
○ Assist enterprises/collectives in developing pitch decks for investors/partners
○ Arrange quarterly business reviews with all enterprises
○ Develop templates and SOPs as needed
○ Assist in the evaluation of enterprises/collectives in coordination with other teams
○ Assist WESS lead in all business planning & development requirements
○ Work closely with other teams in the Collective Social Enterprises Programme including but not limited to the
finance team, communications team, programme, MEL and state teams

● Reporting:
○ Maintain reports for all enterprises/collectives in the context of revenue, shareholders, sales & purchases, etc.
○ Analyse data which is to be shared with the WESS Lead, WESS Board, CSE Programme team and other stakeholders as and when required
○ Monthly travel to enterprise/collective locations

• Experience of 4-8 years, with at least 3 years in business-facing roles.
• Prefer candidates with experience of working with worker-owned enterprises/collectives supported
  by NGOs or SRLMs.
• Experience of working with grassroots organizations will be preferred but is not mandatory.
• Prefer candidates with business acumen or entrepreneurial mindset acquired through experience or
  educational qualifications.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office – Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Can read and understand financial statements, and balance sheets, comfortable with preparing cash
  flow statements.
• Understand the basics of banking and finance.
• Understand the basics of running a business as a whole.
• Should be open to extensive travel to rural locations.
• Proficiency in written and spoken Hindi and English.

Delhi (with frequent travel to rural locations)

Compensation will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Interested applicants with the required attributes are requested to send, a CV and a cover letter by email to [email protected]. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female candidates are urged to apply for this role.