Arunachal to set up development cell for women entrepreneurs

Speaking at the opening session of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform WEP state workshop organised by NITI Aayog here, Khandu said the centre will function as a hub for women entrepreneurs providing access to mentorship, capacity building exercises, and other programmes beneficial for women-led startups.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday said the state government will set up a dedicated development cell for women entrepreneurs with a seed money of Rs 5 crore. Speaking at the opening session of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) state workshop organised by NITI Aayog here, Khandu said the centre will function as a hub for women entrepreneurs providing access to mentorship, capacity building exercises, and other programmes beneficial for women-led startups. The centre will also run dedicated incubation and acceleration programmes for women, he added.

He also rolled out five new initiatives under WEP which will be implemented by NITI Aayog.

Lauding the NITI Aayog for conducting the workshop for women entrepreneurs of the Northeast in Itanagar, Khandu said over the past seven years, his government has adopted a holistic approach to creating an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs that includes multiple interventions such as policy support, monetary support through front-ended subsidies, earmarking of schemes for women entrepreneurs and micro-entrepreneurs, etc.

He mentioned that approximately 6,500 of the more than 20,000 MSMEs in Arunachal Pradesh are owned by women.

Referring to the Arunachal Pradesh Start-up Policy, Khandu said under the scheme, a minimum of one incubation centre will be established in the state and later extend the facilities to at least 50 per cent of the districts over the next five years.

He informed that a special clause to support women entrepreneurs has also been included in the Arunachal Pradesh Start-up Policy 2022-23.

''Women-led development has always been the priority of the government of India and the government of Arunachal Pradesh,'' he asserted.

''I request all aspiring entrepreneurs of Arunachal Pradesh to take advantage of these initiatives. Let this platform pave the way for a future for women entrepreneurship promotion,'' he added.

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission mission director Dr Chintan Vaishnav, co-lead for WEP in states Yashodhara Rajoria, WEP executive committee member Anna Roy, chief secretary Dharmendra, central and state government officials and women entrepreneurs from various North-Eastern states attended the programme.

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