News: Recently ‘We Rise – Women Entrepreneurs Reimagining Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprises’ initiative was launched by NITI Aayog.
About ‘We Rise’ Initiative
- Launched by: NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) in collaboration with DP World.
- The initiative operates under WEP’s “Award to Reward (ATR)” programme.
- The Award to Reward (ATR) initiative was launched in 2023.
- It is a framework under WEP that unites ecosystem partners to support women entrepreneurs through targeted collaborations while recognizing and celebrating their success stories.
- Aim: It aims to identify, mentor, and support high-growth-potential women-led MSMEs across India.
- Objective: To empower women-led enterprises in India by enabling their access to global markets and helping them scale their businesses internationally.
- Scope: The initiative will focus on 100 women entrepreneurs with product-based businesses. These entrepreneurs will receive customized mentorship and export-readiness support to meet international trade standards.
- Focus Areas of Empowerment: The partnership aims to empower product-centric women entrepreneurs through access to trade opportunities, mentorship, and business visibility.
- It supports inclusive trade, ensuring that women-led businesses contribute to India’s export growth and global value chains.
- The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) already engages with over 90,000 women entrepreneurs.
- Global Exposure and Trade Opportunities: Under ATR Programme, selected entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to showcase their products at Bharat Mart in Dubai, located in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).
About the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)
- Established: 2018 by NITI Aayog as an aggregator platform for women entrepreneurs. It became a public–private partnership (PPP) in 2022.
- It has over 47 partners from the public and private sectors.
- It serves as a national aggregator to strengthen the women entrepreneurship ecosystem in India.
- It functions as an enabler, addressing six key ecosystem needs — access to finance, market linkages, training and skilling, mentoring and networking, compliance and legal assistance, and business development services.
