MSME Ministry launches three new initiatives to give impetus to women's entrepreneurship

At the recent 9th Annual Shakti International Women Entrepreneurs Summit in New Delhi, Minister for MSME Narayan Rane expressed immense pride in the unprecedented surge of women entrepreneurs within the MSME sector. Highlighting that over 1.40 crore MSMEs are now led by women, he announced that Zed Certification for women-owned MSMEs is now entirely free.

S.C.L. Das, Secretary, Anna Roy, Senior Advisor at Niti Aayog, Mercy Epao, JS – SME, and Dr. Ishita Ganguli Tripathy, Additional Development Commissioner, Office of DC-MSME, along with women entrepreneurs, industry experts, and government leaders from across the country, were present at the event.

The summit on March 1 marked the launch of three initiatives, including the unveiling of the joint integrated national campaign, 'Panjikaran Se Pragati,' by the Ministry of MSME and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). This campaign urges women entrepreneurs nationwide to register under Udyam and unlock a realm of opportunities.

Additionally, the joint programme 'WEP Unnati _ Udyamita se Pragati tak,' a collaboration between the Ministry of MSME and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), was introduced. This initiative, known as the MSME – WEP Award-to-Reward (ATR) programme, aims to propel Women MSMEs to the next level of growth by offering comprehensive capacity-building support through WEP.

The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) also launched its 'mentorship platform' during this event. The programme, centred on women entrepreneurship, acknowledged and honoured beneficiaries of the CGTMSE scheme, as well as high-performing women entrepreneurs.

The annual Shakti International Women Entrepreneurs Summit, held in observance of International Women's Day, serves the dual purpose of empowering both aspiring and established women entrepreneurs while celebrating the achievements of emerging women entrepreneurs across diverse industry sectors.

Organised by the India SME Forum and the Ministry of MSME in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurs Forum, this event provided a platform for participants to connect with the nation's women entrepreneurs and international experts.