Meta, FICCI partner to enable 5 lakh women-led SMBs pan India
Together with FICCI, Meta will address the barrier to access the right digital tools and resources by offering easy access to tools, programmes and resources by Meta to women entrepreneurs in India.
Meta (formerly known as Facebook), under its #SheMeansBusiness programme, has partnered with FICCI’s ‘Empowering the Greater 50%’ to enable and support five lakh women-led small businesses (SMBs) across India. The announcement was made during Meta’s inaugural National Women Entrepreneurship Summit to encourage industry dialogue and steps to support the MSMEs across sectors.
Access to capital and relevant digital tools remain the leading issues faced by women-led businesses. Out of over 63 million small businesses in India, approximately 20 percent are owned by women, highlighting the need to bring more gender equality.
Together with FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry), Meta will address the barrier to access the right digital tools and resources by offering easy access to tools, programmes, and resources by Meta to women entrepreneurs in India.
Commenting on the partnership with Meta, Sanjeev Mehta, President, FICCI said that FICCI- FLO Empowering the Greater50% is an ambitious women empowerment mission to enhance entrepreneurial and decision-making skills of women.
"Our government has been creating several opportunities through progressive policies for women to thrive. However, achieving a common vision of building a gender-inclusive nation with a focus on women-led development calls for aggregated efforts and multistakeholder partnerships. India Inc stands committed to this cause," he said.
“Our partnership with Meta will encourage more women to take up entrepreneurship by providing them with all the necessary support; thus augmenting the existing efforts in sync with the government's larger agenda of being Atmanirbhar and an inclusive nation,” he added.
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With this partnership, Meta will extend its support via three initiatives:
Facebook Business Coach - will let women entrepreneurs access self-paced lessons via Meta’s educational chatbot tool on WhatsApp and learn how to establish and maintain a digital presence.
Grow your Business Hub, is a one-stop online destination for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to find relevant information, tools, and resources to further empower these businesses to find tools curated to their growth needs.
In addition, Meta’s Commerce Partners Programme will enable businesses to build a digital presence, go direct-to-customer and grow using the power of technology. These businesses will have the opportunity to adopt best-in-class solutions across the retail value chain via our partners, with additional onboarding support, training, and preferential pricing.
Speaking on the occasion, Narayan Tatu Rane, Union Minister for MSMEs said,
“While digital adoption through social media platforms has led many businesses to grow and succeed, for a tangible inclusive economic development of the country, we need to support women-owned businesses by creating an ecosystem which offers opportunities. We are hopeful that Meta’s pledge to support five lakh women-owned businesses will create a supportive ecosystem for women and inspire them to become contributors to the overall development of the country."
Ajit Mohan, Vice-President and Managing Director, Facebook India (Meta) said that the pandemic has been an economic crisis for small businesses across the world. Women-led businesses have been particularly affected due to a lack of resources. We’ve seen that when supported with access to the right tools and resources, these women-led businesses turn out to be more economically resilient.
“To help women-led businesses of India, we are partnering with FICCI to enable five lakh women at grassroot levels with appropriate digital tools and resources. This is a part of our commitment to enable one crore small businesses over the next three years via our Centre for Fuelling India’s New Economy (C-FINE) at our new office in Gurugram.”
Meta created #SheMeansBusiness programme in 2016 to be a space for entrepreneurial women to make valuable connections, share advice, and move forward together. Meta has trained 1.5 million women in 38 markets around the world since 2016.
In November 2021, Meta had also launched 'Grow Your Business Hub' — a one-stop destination for MSMEs to find relevant information, tools, and resources curated to cater to their business goals based on their growth journey.
The announcement was made at the inaugural edition of the 'Grow Your Business Summit' — an event focused on the growth agenda of India's small and medium businesses (SMB).
Edited by Kanishk Singh