Described as a landmark initiative in the sphere of women entrepreneurship towards accelerating economic growth, the National Skill Development Corporation will launch the Women Entrepreneurship Program in association with Britannia Industries. This tackles barriers that women face as entrepreneurs through requisite skills, knowledge, and networking opportunities.
It has free-of-cost self-paced courses in various languages hosted on the Skill India Digital Hub. Some of these modules cover the most essential aspects of entrepreneurship, setting up an enterprise, basic concepts of finance, digital literacy, and market analysis. On completion of these modules, participants will be awarded a jointly branded NSDC, Britannia, and NIESBUD certificate for entrepreneurial competencies.
It will further help in empowering around 25 lakh women across India by arming them with the right skills and competencies to establish and scale up successful businesses. There will be two phases: an online self-learning free course, followed by a strong phase of incubation support. Thereafter, the NSDC will extend vast support to 10,000 shortlisted contestants across 100 business models in the second phase. This would also include assistance for choosing a business model, training programs on entrepreneurship, industrial workshops, registration of the business, project report preparation, and guidance on availments under government funding schemes.
The program would culminate with a grand finale where the 50 shortlisted contestants will present their business ideas in front of a worthy jury. Britannia Industries will extend support in the form of financial grants of Rs 10 lakh each to 10 participants out of those whom it selects and considers worth supporting for their innovative excellence.
Apart from this, the participants' products and services will be featured on SIDH's e-commerce platform, UdhyamKart, and within Britannia's digital ecosystem for women entrepreneurship. NSDC shall also, from time to time, undertake impact assessments to gauge the success and sustainability of the businesses under the scheme, ensuring long-term effectiveness.