E-Village, Uttar Pradesh — On the outskirts of a rural community in northern India, a new building is rising that its leaders say represents far more than brick and mortar.
The Mahila Udyami Global Women’s Empowerment & Business Hub, scheduled to open later this year, is being positioned as a center for skills training, entrepreneurship, and leadership development for women from surrounding villages. Behind the initiative is Dr. Virginia Rivera, the organization’s CEO, whose international journey from Puerto Rico to India has helped shape the project’s global character.
“This hub was never meant to be just a structure,” Rivera said in a recent statement. “It is about access, confidence, and generational change.”
Local Leadership Anchors the Project
While Mahila Udyami draws global support, its foundation in rural India is deeply connected to Adv. Peeyush Pandit — founder of E-Village, Chairman of Swarna Bharat Parivaar Trust, and Co-Founder of Mahila Udyami.
Pandit has played a central role in mobilizing local partnerships, securing land and infrastructure, and integrating the Hub into the broader development ecosystem of E-Village, which focuses on education, sustainability, and inclusive rural growth.
“Development must begin where people live,” Pandit said. “By investing in women at the village level, we are creating a ripple effect that strengthens families, agriculture, and entire communities.”
From Conversations Across Continents to Construction on the Ground
What began as a series of cross-border conversations between women’s organizations has turned into a physical space built with local input and international support. Rivera notes that community members helped determine what the center would include — from digital labs and training kitchens to entrepreneurship classrooms and mentoring areas.
Global advisors and donors from multiple countries have contributed expertise and funding, while village leaders have supported outreach and planning. The result, organizers say, is a model that blends grassroots knowledge with international collaboration.
“This is being built not only for villages, but with villages,” Rivera said.
A Meeting Place for Tradition and Innovation
Once operational, the Hub will host vocational training, business incubation programs, financial-literacy courses, and leadership workshops. Organizers also describe it as a future meeting point for rural women and global mentors — where traditional skills can intersect with technology and market access.
The facility is expected to serve women from several nearby communities and to support cooperative ventures that strengthen household incomes and local economies.
Donors and Partners Fueling the Final Stretch
The project’s construction has been supported through international fundraising efforts, including Mahila Udyami’s “Build Her Future: One Brick at a Time” campaign, which allows supporters to sponsor individual bricks, classrooms, and program spaces.
Rivera credits donors, advisors, and volunteers with turning early concepts into a near-finished reality.
“Every contribution helped move this from imagination to impact,” she said.
A Broader Movement for Women-Led Development
Mahila Udyami operates as part of a wider ecosystem of women-focused initiatives that span India, Latin America, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Rivera has also highlighted the role of Mujer Emprende Latina, which has supported the project from its early stages and helped connect rural programs to global networks.
At its core, the organization promotes what Rivera calls an evolutionary approach to development.
“Mahila Udyami is not just a movement or a revolution,” she said. “It is evolution — the steady, unstoppable rise of women, families, and villages toward dignity, opportunity, and leadership.”
Looking Toward the Unveiling
With construction nearing completion, Mahila Udyami leaders say the upcoming unveiling will mark the start of a new phase — not an end point.
The Hub is expected to open its doors to its first participants shortly after the ceremony, beginning training cycles that organizers hope will benefit thousands of women in the years ahead.
Rivera summed up the project’s ambition simply: “When a woman rises, her village rises. And when villages rise, the world rises.”
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