Why in the news?

  • NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and DP World have jointly launched the initiative ‘We Rise- Women Entrepreneurs Reimagining Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprises’.

Women Entrepreneurship Platform

  • Launch:The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is a flagship initiative by NITI Aayog, launched on 8 March 2018, following its announcement at the 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (2017) in Hyderabad.
  • Aim: It serves as a unified access portal to promote and support women entrepreneurship across India, bridging gaps in information, finance, and mentorship.
  • Vision: The platform embodies the vision “Women First, Prosperity for All” and aims to make women-led development a reality.
  • Objectives:
    • Promote inclusive and women-led entrepreneurship in India.
    • Provide end-to-end support through mentorship, financial literacy, legal guidance, and networking.
    • Create a vibrant ecosystem for growth and sustainability of women-led enterprises.
    • Address bottlenecks faced by women entrepreneurs by curating information and linking to existing schemes and institutional support.
  • Key Features:
    • Financial Aid: Access to seed and growth capital.
    • Mentoring and Networking: Collaboration with industry leaders and peers.
    • Skill Development: Linking to training institutions and online programs.
    • Market Access: Marketing, branding, and export readiness support.
    • Compliance Services: Legal, accounting, and licensing guidance.
    • Incubation and Acceleration: For startups and scaling enterprises.
    • PPP Model: WEP transitioned into a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) framework in 2022.
  • Recent Initiatives:
    • Financing Women Collaborative (FWC): Improves women entrepreneurs’ access to credit.
    • SEHER (2024): A financial literacy and credit education program in collaboration with TransUnion CIBIL.
    • Award to Reward (ATR) Initiative (2023): Encourages ecosystem collaboration while celebrating success stories.
    • We Rise Initiative (2025): Partnership with DP World to promote global trade opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

We Rise Initiative

  • Key Objectives:
    • Export Readiness: Equip 100 high-potential women-led MSMEs to meet international trade standards.
    • Global Market Access: Connect Indian women entrepreneurs to global buyers through trade expos like Bharat Mart in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone.
    • Mentorship and Capacity Building: Offer structured guidance on compliance, logistics, branding, and financing using DP World’s global expertise.
    • Sustainable and Inclusive Growth: Promote women-led economic development aligned with India’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.
  • Features:
    • Implemented under WEP’s ATR initiative- institutionalizes collaborations among ecosystem partners to create scalable and sustainable support for women entrepreneurs.
    • Encourages public–private partnerships to tackle common challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
    • Identifies 100 high-potential women-led MSMEs across India- Provides tailored mentorship programs in trade facilitation, international compliance, logistics, and branding.
    • Offers the selected entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase products at Bharat Mart, Dubai, a B2B and B2C marketplace within the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).
  • Significance:
    • Bridges the gender gap in export participation.
    • Strengthens India’s women entrepreneurship ecosystem through mentorship and trade facilitation.
    • Serves as a model Public–Private Partnership (PPP) promoting women-led development.
    • Aligns with the “Women-led Development” goal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).