National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has partnered with Britannia Industries Limited for a Women Entrepreneurship Program, under which aspirants and women entrepreneurs will be offered crucial skills, knowledge, and networking opportunities. The aim of the initiative launched on July 31 in New Delhi, is to reach approximately 25 lakh women across India to help them with skills and resources needed to start and grow successful businesses.
The program has been launched with the introduction of complimentary self-learning basic entrepreneurship courses available in multiple languages on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). Upon completion of these courses, participants will receive a co-branded certificate from NSDC, Britannia Industries and NIESBUD, acknowledging their entrepreneurial skills and competencies. The initiative will culminate in a grand finale where the top 50 contestants will present their business ideas to a distinguished jury. To further encourage innovation and excellence, Britannia Industries will award financial grants of 10 lakh rupees each to 10 of the most successful contestants.
The Government is supporting women entrepreneurs through opportunities for essential skills development, access to free self-learning courses, and comprehensive incubation support. Aligning with the government’s commitment to fostering women’s entrepreneurship, this program will be implemented in multiple phases to ensure comprehensive support and maximum impact. Divided into two phases, NSDC, with support from the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), will offer free online self-learning entrepreneurship courses through the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). These courses, available in multiple languages, will cover crucial topics such as entrepreneurial skills, enterprise setup, finance basics, digital skills, and market analysis.
In the next phase, NSDC extends robust incubation support to 10,000 shortlisted contestants across 100 business models. This support encompasses business model selection, entrepreneurship development programs, industrial workshops, business registration assistance, project report preparation, and guidance on funding through various government entrepreneurship and startup schemes. Additionally, participants’ products and services will be highlighted on SIDH’s e-commerce platform, UdhyamKart and Britannia’s digital ecosystem for women entrepreneurship. NSDC will conduct periodic impact assessments to evaluate the success and sustainability of the supported businesses, ensuring the program’s long-term effectiveness.
“This program is about women-led entrepreneurship and aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision for women development. One of the most important component of this is that private and public sector organisation are going together telling women to have entrepreneurial ambitions. From Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to Lakhpati Didi, India has travelled a lot of distance when it comes to women development,” said Ved Mani Tiwari, COO (Officiating CEO), NSDC & MD, NSDC International. It may be noted that under MSDE’s Jan Shikshan Sansthan, 82% of trainees are women. In the PMKVY short-term training program, close to 45% of the participants are women.
