Lines creased Suman Devi’s forehead as she furiously typed on her computer. A project associate with a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, the 28-year-old is a pro when it comes to back-office work. Nothing unsual about it except that Suman Devi is a simple village woman from Tikli Akilampur a few km from Gurgaon and was barely literate even a few months ago. But all that changed when the country’s first rural BPO which employs only women set shop in the obscure village. The result: The world opened up for 500 village women like Suman Devi who had never stepped out of their houses till the BPO happened.

The BPO was formally inaugurated by Gurgaon deputy commissioner Rajendra Kataria on Monday. It has been started by a company called `Harva’ which aims at empowering women and harnessing rural values. The BPO project involved an initial investment of Rs 30 lakh and currently has several insurance and legal firms as clients including a US-based company for which data-mining is done by these women.

Of the 500 women hand-picked for training, 50 have been employed, while the rest are still being groomed. The company is also tying to hire voice and e-mail processes when the women are trained enough to work on those fronts.

For now, the women are more than happy. Mala Yadav, who now earns Rs 2,500 per month, said: “Till a few months back, I had not seen a computer. Now, after the three-month training, I feel like I am working in an urban office right in the middle of the village and that too with my limited education. I am so happy.”

The rural BPO is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ajay Chaturvedi, an engineer and management graduate from USA. “I have worked in various countries. I always wanted to start a company which aims at tapping talent from the rural sector in the fields of community-based farming initiatives, rural BPO opportunities and micro finance.”

“The idea behind establishing the BPO is to empower women in the rural sector right at their doorstep. And we have opened a world of opportunities for them. Next in line are centres at Taudu and Sohna, two other villages in the district,” he said.

Interestingly, no qualification limit has been set for women to work in the BPO. Most of these women are not even matriculate but are immensely talented. “In the selection test, all we look for is alphabet knowledge in English apart from a desire to learn,” said Chaturvedi.

He particularly recalls the case of a 25-year-old woman, who crammed an entire computer keyboard in three hours straight! “Even people like us, who work on computer day and night, will not be that fast on the keyboard as she is,” Chaturvedi said.

But how did he convince 500 village women to shed their veil and work in an urban environment? “It took a lot of convincing. We met with their families and explained how it will improve their lives. Also, we had to make some adjustments to suit their requirements. Working hours, for example, have been kept flexible and we also provide pick-and-drop facility,” he said.

The company plans to provide employment to 5,000 women across Haryana and Bihar in the next four years.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Village-gets-BPO-its-women-jobs/articleshow/5717346.cms