NITI Aayog Ties with Cisco to Foster Women Entrepreneurship, Women-Led Startups in India

The next phase of NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)will leverage Cisco's technology and experience working with India's startup ecosystem to enable more women-owned businesses across the country

Building on their shared commitment to empower women entrepreneurs across India, NITI Aayog, the Government's public policy think tank, and Cisco today launched the next phase of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) Titled "WEP Nxt", this next phase of NITI Aayog's flagship platform will leverage Cisco's technology and experience working with India's startup ecosystem to enable more women-owned businesses across the country. Amitabh Kant (CEO NITI Aayog), Anna Roy (Senior Adviser NITI Aayog),Maria Martinez (EVP & COO, Cisco), Daisy Chittilapilly (President, Cisco India & SAARC) and Harish Krishnan, (Managing Director, Public Affairs and Strategic Engagements, Cisco India and SAARC), were present at the launch.

WEP, initially launched by NITI Aayog in 2017, is a first-of-its-kind, unified portal that brings together women from diverse backgrounds and offers them access to a multitude of resources, support, and learning. WEP Nxt is a significant step to augment these efforts. Based on a focused study of Indian women entrepreneurs and their most urgent needs across six key verticals – community and networking, skilling and mentorship, incubation and acceleration programs, and financial, compliance, and marketing assistance - WEPNxt will be driven by evidence-based decision-making. The focused study, fuelling this transition, is also being made available for the benefit of the ecosystem.

Additionally, as a part of this initiative, Cisco, in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation, Sattva Consulting, and the DeAsra Foundation, will enable technology-led experiences and engagements to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs at individual and enterprise levels and create new opportunities for growth.

“As per the Sixth Economic Census, women only constitute 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs, i.e., 8.05 million out of the 58.5 million entrepreneurs in the country. This may have been a missed opportunity in the past, but I am confident as the Government of India and Private sector hold hands through initiatives such as the WEP, we will realize this vision of a new India – where men and women have the equal opportunity to build and to share in the glory of achievement, “ said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. “WEP Nxt will further catalyze this movement and I am confident with Cisco as our partner, this technology platform will soon be the personalized guide for every woman entrepreneur in the country to realize her dreams “

"As we enter a new phase of recovery, we see a collective agreement that a diverse, inclusive, and digitally-enabled world is far more prosperous," said Cisco Chief Operating Officer, Maria Martinez. "It is our responsibility to step up to the challenges of inequity and create new pathways to economic prosperity that enable people and communities, especially women, to break through barriers, spark new ideas, and ignite innovation. We are excited about our partnership with NITI Aayog and hope to bring the benefits of digital technologies to more women-owned enterprises."

"According to the WEP focused study, in addition to greater innovation, up to 170 million jobs could be created by 2030, and our annual GDP could rise by 1.5% if more women took up entrepreneurship – a massive opportunity lost if we delay action to uplift women-owned businesses," said Harish Krishnan, Managing Director & Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India & SAARC.

WEP Nxt is aimed at bridging the existing gaps and forging new possibilities for women in India. We are proud to partner with NITI Aayog to accelerate our shared vision of a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

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About Women Entrepreneurship Platform, NITI Aayog

The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is NITI Aayog's flagship initiative – a one-of-its-kind, unified informationportal for women entrepreneurs. It strives to improve industry linkages and awareness of existing programs and services and provide access to peer support, learning resources, fundraising opportunities and mentorship. With an overarching objective of becoming an aggregator platform that solves for the information asymmetry in the ecosystem, WEP serves as a one stop solution for information and services relevant to women entrepreneurs. The platform currently hosts over 16,000 registered users and 30 partners and caters to six focus areas: Funding & Financial Management, Incubation Connects, Taxation & Compliance Support, Entrepreneur Skilling & Mentorship, Community & Networking and Marketing Assistance.

Niti Aayog Ties With Cisco To Launch the Next Phase of the Women's Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)

NITI Aayog, in collaboration with Cisco, has launched the next phase of the Women's Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), called WEP Nxt.

WEP Nxt focuses on six key verticals: community and networking, skilling and mentorship, incubation and acceleration programs, and financial, compliance, and marketing assistance. The goal is to provide women entrepreneurs with the resources, support, and learning opportunities they need to grow their businesses.

It's a significant step towards fostering a more inclusive and digitally-enabled entrepreneurial landscape in India.

WEP, initially launched by NITI Aayog in 2017, is a first-of-its-kind, unified portal that brings together women from diverse backgrounds and offers them access to a multitude of resources, support, and learning. WEP Nxt is a significant step to augment these efforts.

Additionally, as a part of this initiative, Cisco, in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation, Sattva Consulting, and the DeAsra Foundation, will enable technology-led experiences and engagements to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs at individual and enterprise levels and create new opportunities for growth.

“As per the Sixth Economic Census, women only constitute 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs, i.e., 8.05 million out of the 58.5 million entrepreneurs in the country. This may have been a missed opportunity in the past, but I am confident as the Government of India and Private sector hold hands through initiatives such as the WEP, we will realise this vision of a new India – where men and women have the equal opportunity to build and to share in the glory of achievement, “ said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. “WEP Nxt will further catalyse this movement and I am confident with Cisco as our partner, this technology platform will soon be the personalized guide for every woman entrepreneur in the country to realize her dreams “

"As we enter a new phase of recovery, we see a collective agreement that a diverse, inclusive, and digitally-enabled world is far more prosperous," said Cisco Chief Operating Officer, Maria Martinez. "It is our responsibility to step up to the challenges of inequity and create new pathways to economic prosperity that enable people and communities, especially women, to break through barriers, spark new ideas, and ignite innovation. We are excited about our partnership with NITI Aayog and hope to bring the benefits of digital technologies to more women-owned enterprises."

"According to the WEP focused study, in addition to greater innovation, up to 170 million jobs could be created by 2030, and our annual GDP could rise by 1.5% if more women took up entrepreneurship – a massive opportunity lost if we delay action to uplift women-owned businesses," said Harish Krishnan, Managing Director & Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India & SAARC."WEP Nxt is aimed at bridging the existing gaps and forging new possibilities for women in India.We are proud to partner with NITIAayog to accelerate our shared vision of a more inclusive and equitable future for all."

15 Women Awarded under aegis of Niti Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)

The Niti Aayog on Sunday conferred awards on 15 women from different areas for their ground-breaking endeavours and displaying role as changemakers.

These women from different walks of life were felicitated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on the occasion of the International Women's Day.

Since 2018, the awards have been hosted under the aegis of Niti Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) with special focus on entrepreneurship.

The defense minister emphasised on the role of women in the workforce in contributing to the economic growth of the nation, the Aayog said in a release.

"Today's awardees have overcome financial and societal challenges not just to redefine the word entrepreneurship but also refine it. I congratulate the Niti Aayog and WEP for providing women entrepreneurs with a platform to share their dreams, failures and victories with each other and grow from them," Singh said.

The awardees included Priyanka Mokshmar, co-founder of Vaayu Home Appliances that provides affordable and environmentally feasible alternatives to traditional AC units across India.

It also includes Ramya Venkataraman's Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA), which creates a certification framework for assessment of teachers' skills and competency; Shilpi Kapoor for BarrierBreak, a company focused on the accessibility of technology for those with disabilities; Rinka Banerjee's Thinking Forks for a consulting organisation, with expertise in the food and nutrition industry.

Among others also included Nidhi Pant for combating issues around waste and farmer living standards, through her Science for Society's innovative idea of selling dehydrated vegetable snacks; Anupriya Balikai's Spookfish Innovations for standards of products and quality control assurance for food packaging.

Praveen Nair was given the special jury award for Salaam Baalak Trust that has successfully worked in rehabilitating over 81,000 destitute and homeless children.