The KickStart Girls Programme empowers adolescent girls and young women from rural areas by providing a safe space to explore and express themselves. It offers a chance to build friendships and learn about a variety of topics, with a focus on developing a "money confident" mindset and promoting financial and digital literacy.
Our aim is to
To empower young rural women to become financially independent and self-reliant
To promote financial inclusion through savings, door step banking, and digital tools
To equip youth with financial, digital, and life skills for real-world readiness
To bridge the gap between education and employment opportunities
To enable access to higher education, jobs, and entrepreneurship pathways
To build confidence, agency, and decision-making ability for themselves
To create safe, supportive learning spaces for growth and self expression
To nurture leadership and community participation among young women
To reduce barriers like mobility, access, early motherhood and early dropouts
To support young women in shaping their own futures with confidence
To make boys and young men allies in women empowerment
KickStart Girls (KSG) is a transformative initiative by the Mann Deshi Foundation designed to empower youth, especially young women from underserved communities to become confident, financially independent, and career-ready.
Designed for rural girls aged 15 and above, KSG takes a holistic approach to development, combining financial and digital literacy, life skills, financial inclusion, career readiness, and leadership training. Through a mix of fellowship, school-based programs, youth-led initiatives, and community engagement, the program supports young women as they transition from education to employment.
In the past year alone, KSG has reached over 5,900+ youth through workshops, trained nearly 1,900+ in financial and digital literacy, and enabled young women to access opportunities in higher education, employment, and entrepreneurship.
At its core, KickStart Girls is about expanding aspirations & building agency. Whether it is a girl opening her first bank account, leading a community workshop, securing her first job, or starting her own business, the program ensures that every participant is equipped not just with skills, but with the confidence to shape her own future.
Our programmes
Youth Lab
Youth Lab is a dynamic learning project under KickStart Girls that engages rural adolescents and young people through interactive, real-world skill-building workshops in schools and colleges. Through thoughtfully curated interactive & immersive workshops, the program creates safe and engaging spaces where young people can explore ideas, build confidence, and develop an understanding of practical life skills. The initiative covers a wide range of thematic areas ranging from cyber safety and health awareness to civic participation, workplace readiness, and critical thinking.
School Bank Project
The School Bank Project is an innovative Financial Inclusion initiative under KickStart Girls that introduces school-going children to the world of saving, banking, and financial responsibility at an early age. Launched to address the gap in financial literacy and financial inclusion in rural communities, the project transforms schools into hands-on learning spaces where students learn about money management and actively practice it.
Through student-led mini banks, children are encouraged to save small amounts regularly, develop budgeting habits, and understand formal banking systems. These school banks are managed by trained girl student leaders, fostering ownership, leadership, and teamwork from a young age. The initiative goes beyond financial education as it aims to build confidence, promote financial independence, and reduce barriers such as school dropouts, especially among girls.
By linking savings habits with real bank accounts and engaging families and communities, the project creates a strong foundation for long-term economic empowerment. At its core, the School Bank Project is about enabling children to not just save money, but to build discipline, aspiration, and a sense of control over their future.
KickStart Girls Fellowship
The KickStart Girls Fellowship is an intensive, cohort-based program designed to support young women graduates in their transition from education to formal employment, entrepreneurship, and independent decision-making. Targeted at young women from underserved communities, the fellowship provides structured, hands-on learning through a combination of sessions from a set curriculum, guest lectures, workshops, mentorship, and real-world exposure visits.
Fellows are equipped with essential skills in financial and digital literacy, professional communication, workplace readiness, and problem-solving while also building confidence, leadership, and a strong sense of self and purpose. The fellowship also provides a monthly stipend, ensuring that financial constraints do not limit participation while reinforcing practical lessons in budgeting and money management. A dedicated month-long external internship in urban cities enables fellows to apply classroom learning in real-world settings, build professional exposure, and strengthen their CVs.
Through these experiences, the program also connects young women to wider professional networks, opening doors to future opportunities and career pathways. Beyond skill-building, the fellowship creates a supportive peer network and a safe space for young women to express themselves, challenge norms, and grow holistically.
Nayi Soch
Nayi Soch is a youth-led media initiative under KickStart Girls, hosted on Mann Deshi Tarang Vahini community radio. Designed as a dedicated youth vertical, the program creates a platform where young people take the lead in producing and hosting radio content, amplifying their voices and perspectives. Through bi-weekly broadcasts, Nayi Soch brings together young voices for group discussions, awareness-building conversations, and storytelling rooted in real experiences.
The platform encourages self-expression, whether through poetry, personal narratives, or reflections while also creating space for dialogue on critical social issues. Beyond expression, Nayi Soch serves as a powerful tool for advocacy. Young participants use the platform to raise concerns, share on-ground realities, and engage with topics such as education, health, gender, history, career pathways, community challenges and many more. By blending creativity with conversation, the initiative not only builds confidence and communication skills but also nurtures informed, aware, and active young citizens.
Freedom on Wheels
Freedom on Wheels is a mobility-focused initiative aimed at improving access to education for young girls facing long and challenging daily commutes. Launched in 2002, the program was designed to address a critical barrier to education — distance — which often led to fatigue, irregular attendance, and school dropouts. The initiative provides bicycles to students, especially girls, who travel over 8 kilometers each day to attend school. By enabling safe, independent, and time-efficient travel, the program helps girls stay in school and continue their education with dignity and confidence. Beyond improving access, Freedom on Wheels promotes safety, reduces dependence on others for mobility, and encourages sustainable modes of transport. Since its inception, the program has distributed 154 bicycles, contributing to improved attendance, reduced dropout rates, and greater continuity in education.
Youth Lab
Youth Lab is a dynamic learning project under KickStart Girls that engages rural adolescents and young people through interactive, real-world skill-building workshops in schools and colleges. The program creates safe and engaging spaces where young people can explore ideas, build confidence, and develop practical life skills across themes like cyber safety, health awareness, civic participation, and critical thinking.
School Bank Project
The School Bank Project introduces school-going children to the world of saving, banking, and financial responsibility. Through student-led mini banks managed by trained girl student leaders, children learn to save regularly, develop budgeting habits, and understand formal banking systems — building discipline, confidence, and a sense of control over their future.
KickStart Girls Fellowship
The KickStart Girls Fellowship supports young women graduates in their transition from education to formal employment and entrepreneurship. Fellows receive structured learning, mentorship, a monthly stipend, and a month-long internship in urban cities — building financial literacy, workplace skills, and the confidence to shape their own futures.
Nayi Soch
Nayi Soch is a youth-led media initiative hosted on Mann Deshi Tarang Vahini community radio. Through bi-weekly broadcasts, young people produce and host radio content — sharing group discussions, personal narratives, and advocacy on topics like education, health, gender, and career pathways — building communication skills and nurturing active young citizens.
Freedom on Wheels
Freedom on Wheels provides bicycles to girls who travel over 8 kilometers daily to reach school. Launched in 2002, the program reduces fatigue, irregular attendance, and dropout risk by enabling safe, independent travel. Over 154 bicycles have been distributed, improving attendance and keeping girls in education.
KickStart Girls empowers adolescent girls and young women by creating a safe and supportive space where they can explore and express their true selves. Through a focus on financial literacy and social awareness, KickStart Girls cultivates money-confident, self-assured, and socially engaged individuals ready to take charge of their own futures.
OUTCOMES
5,970
youth empowered, of which 78.9% are girls
1,917
youth trained in financial & digital literacy through 198 workshops
365
youth engaged in life skills workshops
120
radio shows produced by young women under Nayi Soch
595
adolescents opened bank accounts through the School Bank Project
2,784
young girls trained through 64 skill development workshops
20
fellows graduated from the program, with 5 securing employment as of March 2026. The second cohort fellows is currently underway.
154
bicycles distributed to improve school access, reduce travel barriers, and prevent early dropouts
Meet Jaywanti Devidas Bhoye
Jaywanti always dreamed big and her dreams were fulfilled after attending Mann Deshis Business Schools and learnt how to market, customer interaction, and packaging a product.
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Meet Sushama Chaudhary
Sushma started from a food stall to a tiffin service and now after attending the MBA programme finally started a stall that became famous in her home town.
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Meet Sangeeta Pawar
Sangeeta Pawar of Sinnar village in Nashik district, is a skilled artisan who creates intricately designed traditional handwoven paithani saris.
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Meet Rohini Garud
Rohini visiting the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank, learned about various agri-workshops that the Foundation offered and now has become self sufficient to manage her business single-handedly.
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