Lok Sabha Question No. 2924 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-21
Subject: Women Entrepreneurship
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Jaskaur Meena, Mimi Chakraborty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2924

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2022

## WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## †2924  SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA: MS. MIMI CHAKRABORTY:

## Will  the  Minister  of  SKILL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ENTREPRENEURSHIP  be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start Ups by Women Project;
- (b)  the  details  and  number  of  women  entrepreneurs  created/promoted  by  the  said Project since 2020;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  set  targets  and  achieved  them  under  the  Project since it was launched;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e) the funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized under the said Project in Rajasthan;
- (f)  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the outreach of this Project among women in the country?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

- (a)     'Economic  Empowerment  of  Women  Entrepreneurs  and  Start-ups  by  Women' (WEE) project is being implemented by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH,on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation  and  Development  (BMZ)  -   to  improve  the  framework  conditions  for women-led enterprises in India.

The project aims to pilot incubation and acceleration programmes for women micro  entrepreneurs,  enabling  them  to  start  new  businesses  and  scale  up  existing enterprises in the States of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and 8 North Eastern States of the country.

Under the title of 'Her&Now', the project envisages a film and media campaign to tell the stories of successful women entrepreneurs and to foster a positive mindset change on gender roles and norms in society.

- (b) A total of 725 women entrepreneurs have been supported under the project under both incubation and acceleration support programmes. Region-wise details of number of  women  entrepreneurs  covered  under  the  incubation  and  acceleration  support programmes in the project, are as under:

| Region Total                |   number of beneficiaries per state |
|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| NER - 8 states              |                                 233 |
| Rajasthan (9 districts)     |                                 105 |
| Telangana (26 districts)    |                                 109 |
| Maharashtra (3 districts)   |                                 120 |
| Uttar Pradesh (4 districts) |                                 158 |
| Total                       |                                 725 |

(c) & (d) The project targets to support 315 aspiring women entrepreneurs, from the selected  states,  to  turn  their  ideas  into  a  business  in  the  seven-month  incubation programme. During the six-month acceleration programme, 130 women with existing businesses were targeted to support to grow their enterprises. A total of 725 women entrepreneurs have been supported under the project.

(e)  The  project  budget  is  5.9  million  Euro.  This  budget  covers  all  activities  by  the project during its duration i.e. from August, 2018 to January, 2023.

(f)  The WEE project has initiated a number of partnerships to improve the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in India and thereby to increase the outreach of the project. Memorandum  of Understanding (MoU) have been signed with the following organisations to jointly promote women entrepreneurship through policy development, research, and other means: NITI Aayog - Atal Innovation Mission (AIM); Management, Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council and Empower Foundation; Delhi Skill and  Entrepreneurship  University;  Investment  Development  Authority  of  Nagaland; North East Small Finance Bank.

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