Tailoring is one of the most sought after livelihoods option in India. Most of the tailors serving rural and small city clients rely on manual sewing machines. A small percentage of them have upgraded their machines to electric power by retrofitting a motor. The
modification enhances productivity levels and leads to better incomes. Tailors living in areas with unreliable or no electricity do not have the option and thus lose out on meeting the increased demands resulting in lower incomes. In the following SELCO Foundation intervention, the manual sewing machine was replaced with a Permanent Magnet DC Motor (PMDC) and which was powered by solar. The motor replacement led to an increase in efficiency by 25%. The intervention has been a catalyst in encouraging multiple micro-entrepreneurs in the tailoring business across the rural and urban areas. These models vary in terms of market linkage, financial model and business process.