NSRCEL, the incubation arm of IIM Bangalore, in collaboration with the Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS), has launched the ‘Swavalambane’ programme to scale and support women-owned non-farm businesses in rural Karnataka.
The programme aims to scale existing women-led microbusinesses across Karnataka’s tier-2 and tier-3 landscapes, by providing them with access to a support ecosystem and larger markets, and to help them become financially sustainable and generate local employment.
Currently, the programme is bringing together 150 rural women entrepreneurs under one roof and providing them with networking opportunities, taking their stories to larger audiences, and assisting them with financial support for business growth and success.
The programme is supported by the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under the National Rural Economic Transformation Project, funded by the World Bank.
Commenting on the launch, Anand Sri Ganesh, CEO of NSRCEL said, “Karnataka’s entrepreneurial landscape is renowned for its tech-led innovation and incredible grassroots entrepreneurship. Areas like silk, toys, jewellery, and food products have global recognition. Women have been the driving force behind this.”
“The Swavalambane programme catalyses the growth of these women entrepreneurs by facilitating access to resources, funds, skill development, mentorship, and networking opportunities. In partnership with The National and State Livelihood Missions, we will build a methodology that can be replicated across the country to support the development of a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem for economic growth,” he added.
The objectives of the programme also include offering support for the enterprises to become formal and legal entities and increasing revenue by 15% for each enterprise.
The participants will be supported on capacity building through programme module training and individual/group mentoring sessions. The selected enterprises are provided financial support in the form of grants and soft loans.
Commenting on the programme, Ragapriya R., Mission Director, Sanjeevini – KSRLPS, Government of Karnataka said, “Sanjeevini KSRLPS has been at the forefront of mobilising eligible women into self help groups who have been involved in various activities like internal lending, farm and non-farm livelihood initiatives and various community initiatives and our family has grown into covering 38 lakh households with 3.39 lakh self-help groups.”
“Today we are venturing into another exciting avenue for our self-help group women to transform into full-fledged entrepreneurs who can take advantage of a growing domestic market and burgeoning opportunities and platforms to sell their products. We hope through this venture to create a successful model of fostering budding entrepreneurs who can become mentors for the future generation”.
Charanjit Singh-Additional Secretary, Rural Livelihoods, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, Swati Sharma, Joint Secretary NRLM, Anupama K, Govt of Karnataka, and Prof Srivardhini Jha, Chairperson, NSRCEL and Associate Professor- Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore were also present during the event.
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