The state government has taken an important step to boost the economic empowerment of women and speed up women's entrepreneurship. A special 'Women Start-up Hub' will be set up in the state to give women-led start-ups financial support, a ready market and proper business guidance. For this, the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS), which works under the Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department, and Udaiti Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the partnership would give women entrepreneurs in Maharashtra a strong ecosystem to compete on the global stage.
Guidance, funding and market under one roof The agreement was signed under the leadership of Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Dr Shrikant Patil, CEO of MSInS, and Pooja Sharma Goel, founder and CEO of Udaiti Foundation, signed it.
A platform for coordination: The hub will bring various government departments, investors, industry experts and women entrepreneurs onto one platform.
Accelerator model: A special 'accelerator model' will be run for businesses led by women. Through it, start-ups will get technical help, business growth guidance and direct access to the benefits of central and state government schemes, in line with industry needs.
Capital and market linkage: The project will focus mainly on making working capital and market access available, which are the biggest hurdles for women new to business.
A 'Women Start-up Index' and governance dashboard to measure progress A special data-based system will be built so that policies do not remain only on paper but deliver real results:
Women Start-up Index (WEI Index): A special index will be developed, based on gender-disaggregated data, to track the progress of women's entrepreneurship across districts and divisions of the state.
Governance dashboard: A digital dashboard will allow direct monitoring of the performance of women start-ups in all districts, so that decisions can be based on facts.
Inter-departmental steering committee: A high-level committee will be formed to ensure easy coordination among government agencies and effective implementation of this index.
What is Udaiti Foundation's role? Udaiti Foundation is a leading organisation working to increase women's economic participation in India. Its main aims are to bring around 15.6 crore employable women into the mainstream economy, make women job creators rather than only job seekers, and strengthen basics such as child care, housing and safe travel with data. Pooja Sharma Goel, the foundation's CEO, said the partnership will give a major push to the national goal of 'Viksit Bharat 2047'.