CSIR-NIO Auditorium in Goa hosted the first Women Entrepreneurship Platform
On October 3, 2023, the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Auditorium in Goa hosted the first Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) - NITI Aayog State Workshop Series on Enabling Women-led Development via Entrepreneurship. With a focus on the country's west, the workshop was organised in partnership with the Goa government.
Over 500 people attended the event, including female business owners, members of community self-help groups (SHGs) and clusters, government officials, business leaders, representatives from incubators and accelerators, financial institutions, philanthropic foundations, and more. Deliberations on a hub-and-spoke concept that aims to extend women-led development to grassroots levels and cover the last mile were the main topic of discussion. Eminent dignitaries attended this historic workshop, including Pramod Sawant, the Chief Minister of Goa, V. K. Saraswat, a Member of the NITI Aayog, and B. V. R. Subramanyam, the CEO of the NITI Aayog.
According to Pramod Sawant, the honourable chief minister of Goa, the Goa State Vision 2047 would be created with assistance from NITI Aayog. Dr. Sawant highlighted the Swayampurna Goa initiative's emphasis on skill development and the deployment of "Swayampurna Grameen Mitras" for the doorstep delivery of governmental services in every block and Panchayat as part of the initiative's celebration of its three-year anniversary. The Chief Minister also emphasised the importance of women in socioeconomic advancement and during Dussehra announced the Swayampurna e-bazaar, which aims to increase market access through Common Service Centres.
V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, emphasised the imperative role of states in fostering the growth of the country while highlighting the NITI Aayog's mandate for cooperative federalism. The employment-to-education ratio must be maintained, women's entrepreneurship must be encouraged, and the workforce must be restructured, he emphasised.
B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, underlined the federal government's unflinching dedication to women-led development as its top priority. He emphasised the support of NITI Aayog in helping state governments establish institutions similar to itself in each state. It could be a department or an existing organisation; it doesn't have to be a new institution. But simply make it the focal topic of your future planning. He urged states to utilise the knowledge at NITI Aayog and stated that its employees should not be involved in any other task.
New partnerships have been announced to aid female businesses. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and NITI Aayog partnership, the launch of Udyam Uplift, a CAxpert initiative to strengthen compliance among women-led businesses, and the launch of the first two cohorts under WEP's Award to Reward(ATR) initiative are some of the major highlights. Green business owners from all over India are invited to apply for the first ATR cohort, WEP-Unnati, which is coordinated by WEP Partners, Microsave Consulting, and SIDBI. The Atal Incubation Centre at the Goa Institute of Management will be in charge of the second cohort, dubbed WeNurture.