India's Women Entrepreneurship Platform Expands to Empower Women-Led Development

India's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is expanding its reach into states, strengthening public-private partnerships, and embracing emerging technologies to empower women-led development. Launched in 2018, WEP continues to address underrepresentation and aims to boost entrepreneurial initiatives with state-specific programs and support for women in AI.

India's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is taking significant strides in extending its influence across states and bolstering its public-private partnership model to champion women-led development. The move signifies a critical extension from its initial mission of bridging the information gap for women entrepreneurs, according to Anna Roy, Principal Economic Advisor to NITI Aayog and Mission Director of WEP, during an ANI interview.

"Having started on International Women's Day in 2018 primarily to tackle information asymmetry related to various government schemes for women entrepreneurs," Roy elaborated, "WEP's vision also targets supporting women with required guidance and addressing behavioral barriers that prevent women from considering entrepreneurship as a viable career path." Even several years post-launch, Roy emphasizes the platform's sustained relevance, as women are still underrepresented in India's entrepreneurial sphere.

Describing WEP's collaborative approach, Roy highlighted how the initiative brings together government and industry leaders to advance the Prime Minister's vision of a women-powered development strategy. Initiatives like WEP are essential in today's landscape to unify public and private sector efforts, crucial for achieving India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. With advances in technology, WEP has been able to extend its reach effectively, facilitating initiatives like the "AI by Her" challenge, focused on women in AI, mandated to WEP by the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

(With inputs from agencies.)