Listen and learn
Survey SHG women to understand what are the effective points of entry.
Now open SPARC-AI Fellowship, founding cohort
AI should not take decades to reach the last mile
SPARC-AI places young Fellows in parliamentary constituencies, working alongside Members of Parliament, supporting women in Self-Help Groups to use AI to run their businesses better.
- 12 months in a constituency
- Women in SHGs as the people we serve
- With the MP and the district
Why now
AI is a public good technology. It is not yet reaching the people who could gain most.
In mid-2026, 28.8% of working-age people in the Global North were using generative AI, against 16.2% in the Global South. The gap is widening: adoption in the North is growing more than twice as fast.
| Region | Share using generative AI |
|---|---|
| Global North | 28.8% |
| Global South | 16.2% |
Adoption in the North is growing more than twice as fast. Source: Microsoft AI Economy Institute, Global AI Diffusion, Q2 2026.
Built for someone else
Today's AI tools are designed around urban, English-speaking, formal-economy users.
The last mile is left out
Women in Self-Help Groups already run small businesses, but few have hands-on support to use AI for pricing, record-keeping and finding buyers.
The model
One Fellow. One constituency. One year.
Every Fellow follows the same design, so results can be compared across constituencies and shared with each Member of Parliament.
Build and train
Build capacities with local women and train trainers within the ecosystem.
Check and hand over
Assess the use of AI to increase social and economic value and fix what is not working. Present results to MPs and appropriate government officers.
What we intend to achieve
Every SHG moves forward, at its own pace.
We measure whether women use AI on their own, know their real costs and profit, and what changes in their business, against a baseline taken before any training.
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Early group
Women taking first steps
First use of AI with support; barriers such as shared phones, access to internet, type of use with phone etc. is measured and analyzed.
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Middle group
Women running smarter businesses
Monthly accounts, task cards, more active information gathering and analysis. Creating measurable impact.
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Highest uptake
Women earning more
They use AI on their own, set better prices, find new buyers, and train others.
For each constituency: a trained local cadre of women trainers, evidence for district planning, and a model ready to scale across the state.
Where we work
The founding constituencies
Constituencies will be announced on a rolling basis with additional details below.
Seat 01
StateConstituencyMember of Parliament
To be announcedSeat 02
StateConstituencyMember of Parliament
To be announcedSeat 03
StateConstituencyMember of Parliament
To be announcedSeat 04
StateConstituencyMember of Parliament
To be announcedBring AI to the last mile with us. Partner on a constituency, or apply to join the founding cohort.
Our track record
Built on a decade of work with Parliamentarians
SPARC-AI grows out of Swaniti's SPARC program, which placed Associates with Members of Parliament from 2015 to 2020.
₹80+ crore mobilised8+ lakh people reached35 constituencies
“A well-structured program that offers a platform for young people to involve themselves in the process of effective policy-making while working with Parliamentarians.”
“SPARC plays an instrumental role in driving data-driven governance in the constituency and ensures that good governance leads to a better implementation of schemes.”
“They analyzed government data and provided solutions specific to my constituency.”
Partners of the program, and where SPARC has been featured
