Mumbai, March 3, 2024: The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Ahmedabad's pioneering initiative -- Women Entrepreneurs Access Connect Transform (WeAct) -- with support from Accenture has provided comprehensive training and support to 13,470 women micro-entrepreneurs across 17 states and 2 union territories in India.
Through its vision to ‘Empower Rural Women Entrepreneurs’, WeAct has provided structured hand-holding support to 5,625 women micro-entrepreneurs in the Food and Agriculture industry, 5,921 in the Handloom and Handicrafts sector, and 1,924 in household supplies enabling them to make their businesses profitable and sustainable.
WeAct covers various aspects including market access, product development, and access to finance. Additionally, the initiative also facilitates statutory compliance processes, and technological adoption to enhance the competitiveness of women-led businesses.
WeAct also supports its members in adopting technology effectively. This enables entrepreneurs to leverage technology to streamline their operations and compete more effectively in the market.
Under WeAct, a wide range of business development services are offered to its members. This includes support in various crucial areas such as business planning, marketing, and management. This further helps women entrepreneurs enhance their business efficiency, increase profitability, and achieve sustainable growth.
“We are thrilled to have trained and supported hundreds of women micro-entrepreneurs through our WeAct initiative. This milestone reflects our dedication to empowering women entrepreneurs, and driving positive change in local economies”, said Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII.
“Fostering inclusive economic growth in rural communities is our goal. By providing tailored training and support, we aim to create a conducive environment for women to thrive as successful entrepreneurs, catalysing sustainable development”, said Dr. Raman Gujral, Director, Department of Projects (Corporate), EDII.
Samuel Moses Amarnath, Head of WeAct, has initiated transformative programmes to empower rural women entrepreneurs. The new approach extends to new product development aligning with market standards, elevating packaging standards, and embracing technological advancements such as online marketing, social media marketing, and digital payments, innovative strategies have been implemented to unlock new potential clients and establish corporate relations. This resulted in conducting 100 exhibitions within various corporate premises and grassroots-level exhibitions conducted in 10 states and 29 districts pan India.
The initiative achieved remarkable milestones, including the successful completion of over 3,500 statutory compliance processes. Additionally, it facilitated the onboarding of more than 2,700 members onto prominent e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. Moreover, the initiative provided crucial product development services to a substantial base of over 2,800 members. The active engagement of over 4,000 members in energiser workshops and exposure visits showcased a commitment to skill enhancement and knowledge dissemination. Furthermore, the participation of over 1,000 members in exhibitions resulted in a commendable revenue generation of Rs 79 lakhs. The initiative also played a pivotal role in facilitating financial assistance, totaling Rs 45 lakhs. Importantly, the measured impact on enterprise revenue growth after WeAct's intervention was a substantial Rs 2.5 crores, underscoring the initiative's significant contribution to fostering economic development and sustainability.
