India's National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), a federal programme launched in 2011 to reduce rural poverty through self-employment and financial inclusion, is increasingly being studied by African governments as a model for grassroots development. Fifteen years on, the initiative has enrolled over 20 million women in Self-Help Groups earning meaningful incomes, extended banking access to more than 50 million women, and established female banking correspondents in over 60% of local governments. The programme's scale and measurable gains in female labour force participation since 2018 have made it a reference point in South-South development diplomacy.