J&K LG launches rural women enterprise acceleration scheme SAATH

Women entrepreneurs can trigger a more dynamic economy and inclusive society, he added.Highlighting the transformation JKRLM programmes are making in the lives of rural women of Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor said the inclusion of four lakh women from over 48,000 self-help groups with easy access to capital have revolutionised women entrepreneurship at the grass-root level.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday launched a rural women enterprise acceleration programme SAATH. Under the initiative of the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission, SHG women entrepreneurs will be provided mentoring and handholding through intensive training and capacity building workshops for up-scaling their business ventures.

As many as 5,000 women will participate in entrepreneur workshops, 500 will be provided enterprise up-scaling training, and 100 will be selected for business mentoring under the SAATH initiative, an official spokesperson said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor observed that the specifically tailored platform 'SAATH' will be a major contributor to the socio-economic upliftment of women in rural and semi-urban areas.

Apart from making business ecologies thriving in the rural areas, the programme under Rural Livelihoods Mission will nurture existing enterprises into sustainable and high productivity ventures through skilling, mentoring and market linkages, he added.

Terming economic independence as the key indicator of women empowerment, the Lt Governor observed that the goal of the UT Government is to make the women of J&K job creators instead of job seekers and increase the contribution of women entrepreneurs in the Union Territory's GDP.

''We are witnessing a steady rise of women entrepreneurs in J&K. Similarly, youth entrepreneurs are transforming society in many ways and are ensuring economic security and prosperity for others.

"They are our role models and not the ones who are shedding innocents' blood and indulging in senseless violence. I appeal to the women entrepreneurs to show such misguided people the right and virtuous path,'' he said.

Sinha reiterated the government's commitment to provide access to capital, quality mentorship for re-skilling, new-skilling and help women entrepreneurs from SHG's reach new markets.

''We have adopted a holistic approach to develop women entrepreneur ecosystem to connect, collaborate, invent for scaling up business and building a strong women workforce,'' he added.

The UT Government is strengthening bottom-up structures for women and youth to create super-empowered individuals in Jammu and Kashmir. Their aspirations are more integrated with national aspirations now than ever before. They have resources available to create smarter enterprises and shape the community around them in extraordinary ways, the Lt Governor observed.

He said with initiatives like Saath, Umeed, Mumkin, Hausla, and Tejaswini, we are making women socially and economically independent. ''Women entrepreneurs can trigger a more dynamic economy and inclusive society,'' he added.

Highlighting the transformation JKRLM programmes are making in the lives of rural women of Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor said the inclusion of four lakh women from over 48,000 self-help groups with easy access to capital have revolutionised women entrepreneurship at the grass-root level. Women should become a visible workforce now. ''We need to involve more women in non-farming works, besides giving focused attention to areas where they can get maximum economic freedom and business opportunities. The gap between paid and unpaid work can also be bridged through IPS strategy- Identity, Productivity and Security,'' he added.

To assist the growth of the SHGs at the local level, the Lt Governor suggested policy interventions by ensuring that the offices, schools in the districts and blocks procure a fixed quota of goods from Self-Help Groups. He advised the JKRLM office bearers to focus on branding, packaging, and above all brand positioning of SHG products. The attractive packaging, effective brand positioning, required licenses for over-the-counter sales are some of the basic necessities to give them a competitive edge in the market. ''You have the most difficult task of identifying consumers to connect with your brand, but it is not impossible. The workshop must aim to offer 360-degree training on branding and marketing.

"It is also important to exploit the power of social media and e-commerce. The digital space can create a widely available market base for the rural women entrepreneurs," the Lt Governor said.