SathWork
- India
- Not registered as any organization
We are mainly working on problems in 2 communities
Village People -
Many people in villages come to the city to get employment leaving their home for extended periods of time . They do this because there are no jobs in their village and are forced to leave their village and family at home.Over 5.7 million people migrate from their villages to cities and another 4.5 million migrate within their rural areas in search of work.With around 83.3 million people in their villages with no jobs. And even when they do migrate to the city they have a hard time being hired because of their skills and limited job options . Currently, most of these people work as maids, carpenters, workers, drivers, and do general labor, etc. with their families in the village,and no time to focus on their children's education or family and with not enough earning people in the village to develop the village further.
Also India being a country with one of the largest populations has many people with untapped potential
As of Today India is not a manufacturing hub due to its lack of factories which they are not able to build due to lack of infrastructure etc
With such a large population and the majority of these people living in villages about 70% in villages and rural areas, this accounts for 908.8 millionpeople
India also has a very strong and diverse culture and family culture is a very important aspect, these values are very important to the people in India
often in the manufacturing sector, people are often worked for long hours where people just go to their dorm the straight to work, where there is no separation between work and life
Entrepreneurs
We also aim to help democratize entrepreneurs. Currently, if an entrepreneur wants to start a business they will need a manufacturer, a supplier, etc. which requires a lot of work and the process and can make it hard to enter and compete. And most entrepreneurs only want to be able to focus on their customers, growth, and design. Also when they want to get their product made they need to invest a lot in manufacturing since it is all done in factories and at a large scale making it a huge liability if the goods aren't sold . Also, most companies will have to already be a substantial size to even get their idea/product manufactured, and accessible only to larger businesses. Making it hard for frontline entrepreneurs to grow.
Our solution SathWorks is a platform where the entrepreneur or brands will apply their product design and materials and where they will sell (it can be Amazon, etc.), then the people in the villages on SathWork will get notified (where they can enter their area of interest) and they will get a guide and directions directly from the entrepreneur on how their product is to be made or assembled.
Many states in India also have staples like Assam which is known for its tea
So based on the Entrepreneurs project and resources people in the state with an abundance of those resources will be notified and then can apply
This works like a distributed factory in villages and can employ many people. The people in the village will be given all the tools and materials required for the product. The Entrepreneur will choose how the workers will be paid either hourly or project item-based
This also doesn't make manufacturing a liability, since they can just have, for example, 10 people in the village manufacture their product for 5 months etc.
Making this accessible to companies and entrepreneurs of all sizes
The entrepreneur will choose where they want to sell online and accordingly, that is where it will be delivered in the warehouse (eg. amazon warehouse, own warehouse, etc.).The growth of the business depends on the entrepreneur from then on and they do not have to worry about their manufacturing and can hire more people if they ever want to make more things or different products. This allows them to focus on their customer, innovation, and product.
We will be taking a 7.5% commission on the transactions.
This allows the people to work from their homes with their families and the don't have to leave their village, being able to focus on their family and children's education. This works like a distributed factory / distributed manufacturing. Once scaled up can provide jobs to many people in villages and allow them to stay at home and provide a steady income and permanent job.
SathWork allows these people to be with their families and have a good work-life balance
Eventually, we hope that entrepreneurs and brands from outside can also have their products made here and then exported globally working like a hub for distributed manufacturing.
It allows for many entrprenurs to enter and focus on their goal of customers, design, innovation and growth, democratizing entrepreneurship, and enabling a distributed manufacturing economy.
Our target audiences is both the village people and entrepreneurs
Our target population is all the people in the villages who are unable to find jobs and are forced to migrate to cities, they also don't have permanent jobs living as daily wage laborers. We have interviewed daily wage laborers and maids who have left their villages and families with their very young children to find employment in the city, as said by them they have left their parents and children at home not being able to return for months, and cannot attend to their family commitments, some even send money to their older parents back in the village. Sathwork allows these people to work from their homes and tend to their families, focus on their children's education, etc. and maintain a work-life balance. They can also build their skills through SathWork
entrepreneurs
it allows entrepreneurs of all sizes to access manufacturing without heavy investments. Especially for frontline entrepreneurs, it allows them to focus on their impact and not worry about the manufacturing process and can focus on growing and impact.
SathWork is founded by Rayna Borah and made alongside Rian Borah, supported by professional programmers and a system architect. Village workers and entrepreneurs help to validate the system.
As the architect of SathWork, Our core is human-centered design and we have talked directly to the people in villages and entrepreneurs for the product to best serve the needs of the people. So we have been designing SathWork right along with these people.
Being from India I have seen many people travel from their villages thousands of miles away just to find employment, in India almost every household has a maid who has traveled from her village to work in these households for many months leaving her family at home. These people are seen every day from general labor to carrying bricks etc.
As a passion for building solutions that help humanity, I have been awarded the Young Pioneer Award by the IET for her 'BreathingCart,' a hydroponics vegetable cart designed for street vendors. BreathingCart has also been published in IEEE and also previously selected as a finalist at MIT Solve
She is a finalist in the ongoing Rise 2024. She is a member of the New York Academy of Science's Junior Academy and the 1000 Girls 1000 Futures program. Additionally, she is the winner of the 2023 Wharton Global Youth Program for Entrepreneurship.
Rian who also grew up in India is a recent graduate of the Univerasity of California, Santa Cruz, with a major in Computer Engineering. He helped conceptualize the platform and its architecture. He also led the university’s Student Creativity & Entrepreneurship Empowerment (SCEE) Club as President and developed pipelines for students to progress from ideation to pitching companies over the school year, while incentivizing work for social good. For example, he collaborated with students to build a fintech company that helps gig workers in Africa secure predictable incomes amidst volatile currency rates, which subsequently led to acceptance into Y Combinator.
He has worked on projects such as bio-electronic devices for tissue regeneration, AI accelerators, and autonomous soccer-playing robots.
He is interested in solving large-scale problems and creating successful businesses by leveraging technology and human-centric design. He is involved in robotics, high-performance computing, bioelectronics, computer vision, hardware-software systems, SoC design, and fostering innovation.
- Generate new economic opportunities and buffer against economic shocks for workers, including good job creation, workforce development, and inclusive and attainable asset ownership.
- 5. Gender Equality
- 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
- 9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- 17. Partnerships for the Goals
- Prototype
We have conceptualized the design, and business plan and implemented the first working prototype.
We have a working platform where users can register. Registration is currently by invitation only (If you would like to receive an invitation, please contact our support team at support@sathwork.com.). Users can register as entrepreneurs or workers.
Entrepreneurs can create project opportunities and other details. Workers can view these opportunities and apply for them. The entrepreneur then selects the right candidates as workers. He or she then creates a project with implementation guidelines and a training module. We have also integrated AI to automatically generate training modules with a materials list and implementation steps if the entrepreneur needs assistance.
Workers then submit work progress, and the system schedules pickups and deliveries.
At a later stage, the system will be connected through logistic partners, online marketplaces, Aadhaar authentication, mobile payment systems, etc.
We believe that by applying to MIT Solve, it will help us understand our human-centric design and the complexity of technology implementation, and assist us in determining the correct approach to centering workers and entrepreneurs. Given that MIT is a world leader in both technology and entrepreneurship, we are confident that MIT can help connect us with the right intellectuals, mentors, and partners to guide, correct, and connect us.
We also hope to learn more about the economy of manufacturing and how we can implement SathWork into our economy to have more impact and how the economy can benefit from SathWork
- Business Model (e.g. product-market fit, strategy & development)
- Product / Service Distribution (e.g. delivery, logistics, expanding client base)
- Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)
Manufacturing is known as the big job multiplier in the value chain
Affecting job multiplication throughout the whole economy
India being a country with one of the largest populations has many people with untapped potential
As of Today India is not a manufacturing hub due to its lack of factories which they are not able to build due to lack of infrastructure etc
With such a large population and the majority of these people living in villages about 70% in villages and rural areas, this accounts for 908.8 millionpeople
So manufacturing will be able to provide jobs to many, which is a huge problem being faced in India
SathWork connects entrepreneurs and villagers, allowing people in villages to have a factory in their homes.
We are working to integrate manufacturing and supply chains at the national level and, hopefully, extend to the global marketplace.
We hope our solution will provide many villagers with job opportunities that were previously inaccessible due to location, lack of training, or financial constraints.
India also has a very strong and diverse culture and family culture is a very important aspect, these values are very important to the people in India
SathWork allows these people to be with their families and have a good work-life balance
often in the manufacturing sector people are often worked for long hours where people just go to their dorm the straight to work, where there is no separation between work and life
But on SathWork workers choose their set amount of daily hours they want to work and are paid according to that
on the other side
For small business entrepreneurs, it will enable them to start their initiatives with minimal investment and almost immediately reach customers with their products. They will also enjoy great flexibility to modify and switch to new products. Additionally, they will have increased access to talent, even from the most remote corners.
SathWork
Inputs
a platform that provides jobs to people in villages through distributed manufacturing. It allows manufacturing to be accessible to entrepreneurs of all sizes, democratizing entrepreneurship.
Outputs
people in villages can work in their home and are not forced to leave their village and family. They can have it as a stable source of income with set hours and income
Entrepreneurs of any size can hire these people on SathWork to manufacture their products with the least liability, without much investment.
outcome
people can be provided with jobs through distributed manufacturing in their homes at villages which increases the income which they spend locally which leads to the development of their village then leading to a boost the economy and then more jobs creating a positive cycle for the development of these villages and the people
Evidence
in many existing countries manufacturing has proven to make their economy strong, being able to support all its people. And is supported by economists who have studied this deeply.
The impact goals for SathWork are
People in villages to be able to work from their homes and have a stable income with work-life balance and tend to their children's education and household all while being able to retain their values , heritage and culture
We are able to measure a more stable income directly by the amount they earned previously and the amount they earn through SathWork . And their work-life balance is also evident since they are at home only and are able to spend time with their family and children.
And for entrepreneurs, our goal is to democratize entrepreneurship
So SathWork allows entrepreneurs of all sizes to access manufacturing through our platform where they have monthly subscriptions and tiers based on the amount of projects they can do and amount of workers they can hire.
SathWork is a cloud-based supply chain ERP platform tailored specifically for the general populace. This comprehensive system will incorporate OAuth2 API interfaces to connect with logistic providers and enable integration with online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. It will feature an AI-driven training module, quality control modules and AI to predict the district wise best products to be made there (In India many staple states have staple resources eg Assam(a northeastern state) is known for its tea) so if an entrepreneur wants to make tea associated products they will be connected to the people of Assam since tea abundant there and of high quality.
User identity verification through Aadhaar (a unique identification system) which is used in India. Additionally, it will support transactions via ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). Key functionalities of the ERP include management of the Bill of Materials (BOM), generation of sales orders and purchase orders, and creation of pallet tags, among other features. It will provide user interfaces accessible from both regular PCs and mobile devices.
- A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
- Software and Mobile Applications
- India
Currently, four people are working on the development of the system, and another four individuals, consisting of villagers, village workers, and new entrepreneurs, are validating the system's development.
We have been working on the system since December 2023.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is reflected in the structure and composition of our team. We prioritize diversity in leadership roles, as exemplified by our team being led by a young female entrepreneur, underscoring our belief in empowering young women in leadership positions. Our technical architect, who studied at the University of California, brings a rich academic background and a broad perspective, enhancing our technical strategies.
We also minimize barriers to opportunity by involving a diverse group of testers from the communities we serve, including villagers and village workers, along with new entrepreneurs. This not only ensures that our solutions are grounded in real-world applications but also supports economic inclusivity by integrating feedback directly from our end users.
SathWork is a ERP platform that provides resource planning for projects, logistics and connection with online marketplaces .
The entrepreneurs will have to subscribe to our platform and can choose from our multi-tier subscription models
There will be a one-time verification cost for both the workers and entrepreneurs
The entrepreneurs will deposit a project security amount against the volume of the work
The workers will be paid via SathWork from the entrepreneur
A person will deliver, the materials and do the final quality check on the products before taking it to the warehouse
The entrepreneur will decide whether to pay the workers hourly or project item-based
Workers on SathWork can also get training though SathWork for which they can then get verified and get rating
- Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)
The entrepreneurs will have to subscribe to our platform and can choose from our multi-tier subscription models for the number of projects and for other limits.
There will be a one-time verification cost for both the workers and entrepreneurs which they all will have to do
The entrepreneurs will deposit a project security amount against the volume of the work and workers will be paid via SathWork from the entrepreneur monthly.
We will be taking a 7.5% commission on the transactions of both entrepreneurs and workers
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