Niti to set up dedicated cell to promote women entrepreneurs

HYDERABAD: Niti Aayog is setting up a cell focused on offering financial support and mentorship to women entrepreneurs, the government policy think tank’s head Amitabh Kant has said.

The cell, to be called Women Entrepreneurial and Innovation Cell of Niti Aayog, will be headed by Niti Aayog advisor Anna Roy , and will offer women financial support through the ?10,000-crore Fund of Funds and Mudra micro loan scheme apart from mentorship in scaling up, Kant told ET on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad on Thursday.

"As a follow-up of this conference, Niti Aayog will create a cell to facilitate collaboration with women entrepreneurs with scalable models to ensure they are adequately funded," he said.

"I would request all women entrepreneurs who have scalable business models to remain in touch with the Niti Aayog cell."


The cell will come into effect immediately post the summit, Kant said.

A Nasscom report released this month said women entrepreneurs constitute only 11% of Indian startups while women-focused venture capital fund Saha Fund said only 3% of women entrepreneurs have received VC funding.

GES, which Niti Aayog organised in partnership with the US government, saw a majority participation of women for the first time, many foreign delegations were led by women.

The US delegation of entrepreneurs was led by Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, who focused on woman empowerment in her speech.

Kant said the summit — where the theme this year was 'Women First, Prosperity for All' — has helped Indian entrepreneurs connect with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from around the world, which is likely to open up business opportunities for both.

"We have been able to change the mindset of men that they cannot change the world without women entrepreneurship," he said. "We need more success stories and women role models."