Born from
connection and conviction
EmpowerToEarn was founded by Anika Kashyap, a student at South Brunswick High School whose journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Noticing that children with disabilities were being left behind without digital access to education, Anika began raising funds to provide smartphones to affected families.
That effort opened a window. Through the families she connected with, Anika witnessed a crisis within a crisis — mothers who had sacrificed everything to care for their children, only to find themselves financially invisible, socially isolated, and without any path to economic independence.
In 2024, Anika participated in an entrepreneurship programme and later volunteered at a disability centre in India. What she saw hardened her resolve: these women were not lacking ability. They were lacking a system designed for their reality.
EmpowerToEarn is that system — built on the belief that economic empowerment and caregiving are not opposing forces. They can, and must, coexist.
Meet Anika
A student at South Brunswick High School, Anika began this work during the pandemic — raising funds to put smartphones in the hands of children with disabilities across India.
What started as a digital access project became something larger: a commitment to the mothers behind those children, and a programme designed around the realities of caregiving.
The hands on the ground
What we stand for
Dignity in Design
Every aspect of this programme is built around the lives of its participants — not the convenience of a programme administrator.
Community Over Charity
We are not a handout. We are a hand up. Our model creates lasting economic independence, not dependency.
Technology as Equaliser
Digital tools — from WhatsApp commerce to e-commerce platforms — bring global markets to the doorsteps of women in underserved communities.