Indian authorities support programme to empower women entrepreneurs

Indian authorities are actively promoting Womaniya, an initiative launched in 2019 to empower women entrepreneurs. This is reported by ANI, a partner of TV BRICS.

The programme aims to encourage women's participation in government procurement through a special portal. The authorities have identified several categories of products whose procurement procedure is simplified: handicrafts, handlooms, accessories, jute and coconut fibre products, bamboo products, organic food, spices, home decor, office furniture and others.

The programme is in line with the Government of India's target of subsidising 3 per cent of government procurement for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned and managed by women.

"The "Womaniya" initiative seeks to address the triple challenge of "access to markets", "access to finance" and "access to value-addition" faced by women entrepreneurs and strives to align the untapped entrepreneurial energy of last-mile producers and service-providers in India with local Government buyers,” CEO of Government e-Marketplace K. P. Singh said.

He emphasised the commitment of the resource he heads to social inclusion through initiatives like “Vocal for Local” and “Make in India”.