The government and governmental organizations are leaving no stones unturned to develop an ecosystem for entrepreneurship in the country. They are also putting in efforts to create awareness and infrastructure for inclusion of women in entrepreneurship. Recently on the 26th Foundation Day of National Commission of Women (NCW), a major emphasis of the commission was to spread awareness among young girls about how they too can become entrepreneurs.
“There is a palpable need to support the development of women entrepreneurs to ensure socio-economic development of women. Studies across the globe are showing that an economically independent woman, with access to financial resources, has better chances to give a better educational and health benefits not only for herself but also to her family, along with the capability and independence to make reproductive choice,” said the NCW in a statement.
The organization invited women entrepreneurs like Revathi Roy of Hey Dee Dee, Kanika Tekriwal of JetSetGo and Shaili Chopra of SheThePeople.TV to showcase their journeys into building startups that inspire young women to think that they too can do it.
The panel, which consisted of members from the ministry of micro small and medium enterprises, NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma and entrepreneurs like Roy, Chopra and Chetna Gala Sinha of Man Deshi Bank, MSME additional secretary Ram Mohan Mishra, said, “First of all, entrepreneurship has to start in people’s mind. Government is a catalyst, a facilitator and a service provider. Entrepreneurship actually starts with a dream and from inspirational success stories."
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According to Ram Mohan Mishra, earlier people said that they needed an ecosystem for entrepreneurship to flourish, so the government initiated the Start Up India programme, which helped in creating a buzz around it. "The media also played a great role in disseminating the information. And how we can go forward is with collaborative effort from all sections of the society,” Mishra said in a conversation with Chopra, who was moderating the panel.
Another program that has nudged women, particularly in taking the road to entrepreneurship in MSME is Skill India, the core of which lies in skilling women and then helping them create their own businesses and livelihoods.
Chetna Gala Sinha, who deals with women at the bottom end of the pyramid by providing them small loans, said that today women are using technology even in the rural segment to stay connected in their homes while they have to step out for work. "Digital revolution has benefited several women in villages to go out and work as they can now connect with their children at home with a mobile phone. So that has made their lives easier and facilitated them to work for their families."
First of all, entrepreneurship has to start in people’s mind. Government is a catalyst, a facilitator and a service provider. Entrepreneurship actually starts with a dream and from inspirational success stories
The NCW is also working towards making digital a safe space for women as a lot of women choose to start their business online today. Talking about it, NCW chief Rekha Sharma said, “Even today, women aren’t fully aware of securing their personal data online. So we are training girl students in colleges on how to be safe online and how to use it for their benefit. We are on our way to creating workshops that would train young girls in doing small businesses online and how to promote it on social media.”
SheThePeople.TV also undertook a program last year with Google's “Digital Trust Dialogue” to teach college girls about safety on social media and how they can take proper steps to deal with cyber bullying and harassment.
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