Jayanti Ekka, a determined 35-year-old woman from Sundergarh district, has earned a name as a successful entrepreneur after overcoming a host of personal and social challenges. With a minor deformity and limited education, her drive and entrepreneurial spirit have led her to create meaningful opportunities for herself and her community. A consummate worker in building strong networks of self-help groups, she has become a role model for the women in her village and beyond.

She started her first Self-Help Group, Kalyani, in 2003 with a loan of Rs. 15,000. A small group, to start with, it grew in productivity under Jayanti's dynamic leadership. In five years, Kalyani got the contract for providing midday meals (MDM) and gave work to two dozen women. Kalyani is now a self-sustaining enterprise which supports around 50 families, thereby showcasing how SHGs can uplift rural communities both economically and socially.

Jayanti Ekka is currently the president of the SHG federation in Sundergarh district, a leadership position involving over 15,000 self-help groups under her stewardship. Thus, she advocates for women's economic empowerment and offers the support base for SHGs throughout the district. Under her chairmanship, groups receive resource support and what is required to tap into opportunities toward achieving their goal of economic independence. The success story of Jayanti Ekka received an eminent mention during the Make in Odisha Conclave 2018, where Ekka was congratulated by the Chief Minister of Odisha. Such a mention at great public forums rightly highlighted her achievements in grassroots entrepreneurship and women empowerment. With such a podium, she also got to share her story to a larger audience with the objective of stating her major impact on rural development and her commitment to uplifting women in the community.

The impact of Jayanti Ekka's works on the empowerment of rural women in Sundergarh is sizeable. Starting from job creation and encouraging others into self-help groups, she has laid the foundation for economic independence among women, especially housewives and young women in her village. The work she has done has also proved that self-help groups are a good tool for life transformation and strengthening rural economies.