GOAL
A hands-on research and strategy project, focusing on healthcare poverty and the needs of domestic workers (primarily women) in Mumbai, a city in urban India.
IMPACT
My solution was built on the foundation of ecosystem interventions, with a multi-pronged solution set comprising behavioral change, financial inclusion, and increased accessibility for women with limited literacy.
USER RESEARCH | PRODUCT INNOVATION | DESIGN THINKING
Bilingual equitable financial system for marginalized individuals - A start-up approach
Home
Loan
Savings
OBSERVATIONS
Lack of access to funds leave domestic workers vulnerable during emergencies
Witnessing my domestic worker Sita's struggle truly opened my eyes. After securing medical care for her sick daughter, she couldn't afford the prescribed medication due to financial constraints. This harsh reality, faced by so many in marginalized communities, became a turning point. Sita's story prompted me to investigate the financial barriers affecting their preparedness for healthcare and other emergencies.
Harried Help
One afternoon, I noticed my maid, Sita, rushing into our building, her young daughter wincing in pain. Sita explained that her daughter had an earache, but she didn't know what to do.
Financial Strain
The next day, Sita returned, unable to afford all the prescribed medicines. She had already spent her salary on rent and other essentials.
Seeking Solutions
Wanting to help, I quickly searched for a doctor nearby. After calling a few clinics, I found one willing to help at a discounted rate. I paid for the visit and wrote down the address for Sita.
The Hard Choice
I explained the importance of taking all the medicines, but she said that she had exhausted all her salary on rent, food, and her daughter's school fees, leaving her with no emergency funds.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Healthcare costs push people into poverty
70% of urban households in India rely on the private medical sector for their primary healthcare needs.
National Family Health Survey-3
50-60 million Indians are pushed into poverty annually due to medical expenses.
National Library of Medicine
Over 23% of the sick population in India cannot afford treatment due to rising healthcare costs.
National Library of Medicine
The problem space
Domestic workers in India struggle with financial insecurity, leaving them ill-prepared for expected and unexpected expenses like healthcare, rent, school fees, or job loss. This insecurity forces difficult choices: delaying healthcare, compromising well-being, and accumulating crippling debt for basic needs.
Potential for impact
Prioritizing financial empowerment initiatives can enhance preparedness and resilience. These initiatives can improve existing coping mechanisms, enabling a smoother transition to financial planning and saving.
PRIMARY RESEARCH AND INSIGHTS
Low wage leaves workers with limited savings and collaterals, hindering access to bank loans and trapping them in a cycle of debt to their employers
"It's tough. My employer is the only one who can give me a quick loan when I'm in a bind. If they say no, I have to scramble - skip meals or work overtime. Banks just won't lend without collateral, and I feel stuck."
- Domestic Worker
INSIGHT SYNTHESIS
Breaking barriers and building resilience by leveraging employer and employee relationship
Determined to find intervention opportunities, I mapped out every stakeholder using an ERAF system diagram. As I connected the dots, a crucial realization struck me - the untapped potential of the employer-employee relationship could be the key to unlocking financial and healthcare access for these marginalized women.
Reaching domestic workers hinges on collaboration with their employers. These employers are often trusted figures, creating a natural entry point and easy access to the target audience.
Savings
Conflicting work schedules with banks and complex banking apps limit domestic workers' savings. Utsāha integrates a user-friendly savings feature within the app, allowing them to save, track progress, and see interest earned, motivating further saving.
What stops employers from helping employees?
"I'd like to help, but without any written agreement, I'm afraid I may never get my money back. I'm new to the city and barely know my domestic worker."
- Employer
Lacking savings or loan documents, domestic workers often must borrow from employers or relatives. Some helpful employers provide ongoing financial support, but others deduct from wages, trapping the workers in debt. In a transient city, establishing trust for loans is difficult. Most employers won't lend due to lack of documentation, leaving the workers helpless.
Identifying methods to mutually benefit workers and their employers to encourage participation and facilitate product success
Partnering with employers for success
Reaching domestic workers hinges on collaboration with their employers. These employers are often trusted figures, creating a natural entry point and easy access to the target audience. For employers, their concerns about trust and managing advance payments can be addressed, streamlining the process and encouraging them to introduce the product to their domestic workers.
Empowering domestic workers
For domestic workers, the solution goes beyond just instant access to money. The aim is to break the cycle of debt by fostering financial well-being. Removing the initial financial barrier – lack of funds – paves the way for better healthcare access, and encourages self-reliance.
Delving deeper
My initial research into India's healthcare landscape, revealed the alarming statistics on healthcare costs pushing people into poverty, further fueled my determination to make a positive impact.
70% of urban households in India rely on the private medical sector for their primary healthcare needs.
National Family Health Survey-3
50-60 million Indians are pushed into poverty annually due to medical expenses.
National Library of Medicine
Over 23% of the sick population in India cannot afford treatment due to rising healthcare costs.
National Library of Medicine
65% of the population in India lack regular access to essential medicines.
National Library of Medicine
70% of urban households in India rely on the private medical sector for their primary healthcare needs.
National Family Health Survey-3
50-60 million Indians are pushed into poverty annually due to medical expenses.
National Library of Medicine
Over 23% of the sick population in India cannot afford treatment due to rising healthcare costs.
National Library of Medicine
65% of the population in India lack regular access to essential medicines.
National Library of Medicine
Domestic workers crave a safety net, they seek progress through upward economic mobility, and simplified guidance and support
By understanding their existing coping mechanisms (jobs) and aspirations, I aimed to create targeted support and tools to alleviate their pains and address their needs. This approach lays the groundwork for the "Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze" model, which leverages existing behaviors to identify effective intervention points.
PAINPOINTS DEEP DIVE
"I'm looking for guidance. Someone who can explain my options and empower me to find a solution."
- Domestic Worker
Project Goals
To measure the success of this project, I defined three key metrics that evaluate its effectiveness.
Empower Domestic Workers
By fostering self-reliance, the product should enable domestic workers to manage their health and finances, ultimately facilitating upward social and economic mobility.
Profitability
The project must achieve a double bottom line: generating profits through a scalable intervention while simultaneously addressing a social need.
Replicability
The model should have the potential to be replicated and adapted to address the needs of other marginalized communities.
So, what makes Utsāha unique?
Utsāha is a Fin tech which collaborates with other NBFCs and HR Management platform dedicated to bridge the financial gap for marginalized communities.
Unregulated Market vs. Structured System: Unlike the current market with no standard benefits, Utsāha provide a structured finance and healthcare system, similar to established workplaces.
Traditional Finance vs. Tailored Solutions: Utsāha breaks the mold of traditional financial institutions by partnering with businesses to curate and provide micro-loans and user-friendly tools that cater specifically to the needs of domestic workers.
IDEATION
Laying foundation for the design solution that guides domestic workers towards upward social and economic mobility
I developed a high-impact, low-effort multi-pronged solution: an innovative MVP that prioritizes financial inclusion through behavioral change tools, catering specifically to users with limited literacy.
DESIGN SOLUTION
Enabling domestic workers to face healthcare and other emergencies with an MVP that prioritizes financial inclusion through safety, progress, and support
Health
Provides access to nearest health resources at a subsidized rate.
Savings
Encourages savings through convenient and secure mechanisms.
Micro-loans
Offers access to funds for healthcare and other emergencies.
Chat
Provides a safe space for communication, support, and resource sharing.
Simplified navigation for users with limited literacy
With my critical offering defined, I created an information architecture to map out corresponding actions and features.
BUILDING THE PRODUCT
Home
In collaboration with domestic workers, I designed a simple homepage with icons for easy identification of services. I added their total balance tied to their savings and debt, offering a clear financial picture.
GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
How will Utsāha enter the market?
The first phase involves an MVP designed for domestic workers. Later stages will include an employer interface when integrating human resource management features for improved workplace practices.
Reaching domestic workers
Partnering with housing societies
Collaborate with housing societies for easy access to users and on-site support. This collaboration would involve establishing on-site support centers (less capital intensive) within housing societies by renting office spaces.
Onsite support
Personally help domestic workers set up savings, educate on financial well-being, and provide access to essential tools through 24*7 chat and on-site support.
Building financial empowerment
Easy access to instant micro-loans and beyond
Provide easy savings and offer low-cost, collateral-free micro-loans at their workplace to ensure quick adoption.
Eligibility and evaluation
Analyze savings history and responsible financial behavior to determine micro-loan eligibility and ensure timely repayments.
Introducing Utsāha
Utsāha is a Fin-tech which collaborates with other NBFCs and HR Management platforms dedicated to bridge the financial gap for domestic workers.
Traditional finance vs. Tailored solutions: Utsāha breaks the mold of traditional financial institutions by partnering with businesses to curate and provide micro-loans that cater specifically to the needs of domestic workers.
Unregulated market vs. Structured system: Unlike the current market with no standard benefits, Utsāha provides a structured finance and healthcare system, similar to established workplaces.
Co-creating a visual identity
To understand user preferences for branding, I conducted card sorting exercises with colors and images. This helped identify visuals that resonated with the company values: upward mobility, nurture, and community. The final logo design prioritized memorability, especially for users with limited literacy.
The name, "Utsāha" (meaning both joy and perseverance in Sanskrit), reflects these identified values. It acknowledges the workers' inherent resilience and the joy they deserve. I aimed to create a modern and relatable visual language, aligning with the kind of tools they use in their personal lives.
Concept and prototype testing
Once the MVP was roughly shaped, I conducted initial concept testing followed by wireframe testing to assess user understanding of the app.
Actionable insights and feature recommendations from user testing
Users with limited literacy rely heavily on voice note features
Voice Integration
Domestic workers in Mumbai often rely on employers or their children to read. Choosing Hindi and English, as official languages in India, aligns with the launch strategy.
Bilingual App
Limited literacy being a barrier, I recognized user reliance on icons and voice commands, and designed a simple interface with familiar flows (like Reels and Google Pay) for fast adoption and user confidence.
Simple UI and Familiar Flow
Building on their existing skills with Meta Reels, Google Pay, and WhatsApp voice notes, familiar user flows can accelerate adoption and user confidence, despite limited literacy.
Incentive to save
Bilingual app
Familiar flow to boost adoption and user confidence.
Competitive interest rates and transparent information to incentivize saving.
Encourage saving for loan access.
Voice integration.
Voice integration
Creating Safety, Progress, and Support
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Loan
Expanding on savings, Utsāha offers micro-loans for reliable workers with good savings habits*. Partnering with NBFCs, the app prioritizes responsible borrowing with clear loan details, installments, and easy repayment – fostering positive financial behavior.
* In the testing phase selection would be based on partner housing society recommendation.
Chat
Addressing the need for reliable, standardized support identified through research, I implemented a chat function with voice message capabilities mirroring familiarity with WhatsApp and Meta Messenger. This caters to preferred communication styles and eliminates struggles finding answers. Utsāha representatives respond in the local language within 24 hours, with automated timeframe expectations, and in-person support is available on designated days when representatives visit worker societies.
BUSINESS MODEL
Exploring the outcome with a triple bottom-line impact (economic, social, and environmental)
I developed a modified business model canvas that could facilitate future iteration and prototyping.
FINANCIAL PLAN
Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of the outcome
To validate its scope, I created some financial projections, starting with understanding the market through TAM, SAM, and SOM.
Chat
Building on their comfort with WhatsApp voice notes, I designed an in-app chat feature where they can send queries through voice messages and receive personalized help within 24 hours.
Financial projections for subsequent years are based on the detailed plan and initial year's forecasts. An initial capital infusion of $180,000 (₹15,00,000) will fuel project launch, achieving break even by year 5.
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IMPACT
To measure the success of this project, I defined three key metrics that evaluate its effectiveness
Empowerment - By fostering self-reliance, the product should enable domestic workers to manage their health and finances, ultimately facilitating upward social and economic mobility.
Profitability - The project must achieve a double bottom line: generating profits through a scalable intervention while simultaneously addressing a social need.
Replicability - The model should have the potential to be replicated and adapted to address the needs of other marginalized communities.
The revenue model generates income through multiple channels without requiring direct payment from users.
The product has the potential to expand, offering essential products that are currently inaccessible to marginalized communities.
FUTURE SCOPE
Why does this project matter?
Designing Hope
Witnessing domestic workers struggle in India, especially during Covid, sparked a question: can design empower them? At SCAD, I embraced the power of design where profit and social good meet. This project is my first step. It's about more than financial literacy. It's about giving marginalized people control of their future.
Using Design for Social Impact
Building on financial literacy, this app isn't just a bridge to economic opportunity. It's also for social good. Imagine a domestic worker navigating a digital India, with multilingual voice support, with future AI and gamified features guiding their journey even with limited literacy. It's inclusion, accessibility, and innovation in action.
Health
Research revealed literacy and inability to use search engines as a healthcare barrier. Utsāha's core feature is a health section offering a curated list of nearby doctors with subsidized services, accessible through text and voice.
SETTING CONTEXT
The invisible backbone - Understanding domestic workers in India
FOR WHOM?
Domestic workers, estimated to be over 50 million in India, who often hail from low-income households and have limited literacy, presenting several obstacles to their access to healthcare and finance.
WHY?
Due to the unregulated nature of their work and lack of legal documents, they grapple with exploitation, including long hours and meager pay, exacerbating their vulnerability and restricting their access to healthcare and other financial benefits.
WHAT?
A user-friendly bilingual platform that enables access to financial products for healthcare and other emergencies to users with limited literacy, fostering upward economic and social mobility.
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Building trust amongst employers
For employers, their concerns about trust and managing advance payments can be addressed, streamlining the process and encouraging them to introduce the product to their domestic workers.
Enabling instant financial access for domestic workers
The solution goes beyond just instant access to money. The aim is to break the cycle of debt by fostering financial well-being. Eliminating the initial financial barrier, the lack of funds, paves the way for better healthcare access, preparedness for other emergencies, and encourages self-reliance.