India SME Forum to Launch Women Exporters Programme
Women Exporters Programme :
New Delhi, February 28, 2023 : India SME Forum (ISF), India’s largest non- governmental, not for profit organisation for small and medium businesses, will be launching the first of its kind Women Exporters Programme, an initiative of India SME Forum, supported by National Commission for Women (NCW) and powered by UPS, during the SHAKTI NATIONAL CONVENTION on 1st March 2023 at EROS HOTEL, Nehru Place, New Delhi.
This programme is part of India SME Forum’s ongoing efforts to support MSMEs in India and promote entrepreneurship among women. By providing women entrepreneurs with the tools, resources and access to e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon which they need to succeed, India SME Forum hopes to promote economic growth and empower women in India.
The Women Exporters Programme is being launched with the aim to provide training, skills and growth opportunities that will allow women entrepreneurs to better understand and benefit from global trade. The official launch of women exporters programme will reveal the selected 500 women entrepreneurs from a total of 2245 nominations received for this nationwide initiative, in the gracious presence of Hon’ble Union Minister of MSME Shri Narayan Rane, Minister of State in Ministry of MSME Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Hon’ble Secretary of MSME Shri Bidyut Behari Swain, IAS and Ms. Laura Lane, EVP & Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer, UPS.
Women Exporters Programme is designed to help women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) navigate the complex world of international trade and develop their export capabilities. Through a series of workshops, mentorship sessions and networking opportunities, the selected women entrepreneurs will learn about how to export, packaging, logistics, quality standards, international trade regulations, marketing, IPR, and finance. This programme will further offer scope for experiential learning through discussions, lectures and case-studies for the first-time women exporters in India.
This is a unique program designed to enable women owned businesses to become part of global trade. They will get the exposure to become part of the international business networks and market access. The workshops will be conducted by the experienced trainers of ACEEDE, industry experts, experts from UPS and India SME Forum.
With UPS’s expertise in logistics and supply chain management, the selected women entrepreneurs will also have access to best practices for international trade and can expand their business networks.
Ms. Sushma Morthania, Director General, ISF, said : “We realize the important role women entrepreneurs play in the growth of the national economy and exports are a major thrust area for India SME Forum as well as the Country. After having helped over 11000 women to launch their self-employed livelihoods or enterprises e-commerce marketplace like Amazon and others, in the last 3 years, we are now answering the calls of many women entrepreneurs to help them access markets worldwide and export their products. Exports is generally seen as a tough male dominated sector in India and we at India SME forum have resolved to change that, starting with the first Cohort of the WEP 2023.”
Speaking on this Ms. Christina Struller, VP, Corporate Affairs, UPS, said : “We are very excited to partner with the India SME forum for the Women Exporters Program. This event is an important milestone, as we progress towards a key goal in line with our set ambitions for this important program and in alignment with the goals of the Government in India.
We look forward to the presence of Shri. Narayan Rane, Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, and together launch this important initiative that will empower and inspire 500 women entrepreneurs to succeed in international markets. Our collaboration gets us closer to our goals and enables us to truly deliver what matters for these women entrepreneurs.”
