Focus on People
Jul 31 2008
Written by Sally Clasen, Phoenix, AZ
Sustainable Lessons: Madhu Viswanathan
If you teach a woman to fish, she can feed herself for life.... From Milwaukee to Dakar, social philanthropists are teaching the poor and disadvantaged basic business tools in unique ways to help them meet economic challenges today and in the future. Here is the first of we hope many profiles highlighting forward-thinking individuals who’ve cast a wide net:
Madhu Viswanathan, founder, The Marketplace Literacy Project, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
How do you improve the business interactions of women in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in Southeast India, many who can’t read or write? You train them in the language of consumer-speak so they become more informed buyers and sellers. That’s the goal of the Marketplace Literacy Project, launched in 2003 by Madhu Viswanathan, a University of Illinois marketing professor.
“We cover the ‘know-why’ as well as the ‘know-how’ of participating in the marketplace,” he says of the five-day training curriculum geared for women age 18 to 60 who often make goods and sell them at roadside stands. The five-year pilot program, which grew out Viswanathan’s academic research, is extending to other parts of India where instructors will be trained in the teaching model. Plans also include developing an electronic education portal in which instruction is available through video and computer kiosk hubs. “We are innovative in terms of the content as well as the delivery method, covering concepts using picture sorting and role plays, that tap into people’s lived experiences.”
The challenge, he says, is that low-income, low-literate women think in concrete terms—what something costs and what it provides—rather than in the abstract. “We’re helping them think more broadly, getting them to look at business situations differently, maybe starting a food stand in a different location.”
In addition to learning basic business skills, women discover another important resource: economic freedom. “They gain confidence and self-awareness of their rights, too,” Viswanathan says.
“When you respect people’s inherent dignity, magic happens.”
If you teach a woman to fish, she can feed herself for life.... From Milwaukee to Dakar, social philanthropists are teaching the poor and disadvantaged basic business tools in unique ways to help them meet economic challenges today and in the future. Here is the first of we hope many profiles highlighting forward-thinking individuals who’ve cast a wide net:
Madhu Viswanathan, founder, The Marketplace Literacy Project, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
How do you improve the business interactions of women in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in Southeast India, many who can’t read or write? You train them in the language of consumer-speak so they become more informed buyers and sellers. That’s the goal of the Marketplace Literacy Project, launched in 2003 by Madhu Viswanathan, a University of Illinois marketing professor.
“We cover the ‘know-why’ as well as the ‘know-how’ of participating in the marketplace,” he says of the five-day training curriculum geared for women age 18 to 60 who often make goods and sell them at roadside stands. The five-year pilot program, which grew out Viswanathan’s academic research, is extending to other parts of India where instructors will be trained in the teaching model. Plans also include developing an electronic education portal in which instruction is available through video and computer kiosk hubs. “We are innovative in terms of the content as well as the delivery method, covering concepts using picture sorting and role plays, that tap into people’s lived experiences.”
The challenge, he says, is that low-income, low-literate women think in concrete terms—what something costs and what it provides—rather than in the abstract. “We’re helping them think more broadly, getting them to look at business situations differently, maybe starting a food stand in a different location.”
In addition to learning basic business skills, women discover another important resource: economic freedom. “They gain confidence and self-awareness of their rights, too,” Viswanathan says.
“When you respect people’s inherent dignity, magic happens.”
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