NITI Aayog partners with Cisco to foster women entrepreneurship in the country

In an attempt to empower women entrepreneurs in the country, NITI Aayog, the Government's public policy think tank, has announced that it has partnered with the US-based Cisco to launch the next phase of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), named "WEP Nxt" in the country.

According to a statement, The newly launched platform will leverage Cisco's technology and experience working with India's startup ecosystem to enable more women-owned businesses across the country.

The launch was inaugurated by 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).

WEP, which was initially launched by NITI Aayog in 2017, is a first-of-its-kind, unified portal that brings together women from different parts of the country and offers them access to a multitude of resources, support, and learning.

Additionally, as a part of this initiative, The US-based 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 offer them new growth opportunities.

Speaking on the launch, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said:

“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."

"The new platform will further catalyze this movement and will soon be the personalized guide for every woman entrepreneur in the country to realize their dreams," he adds.

"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," she adds.

Apart from this, Encouraging women's entrepreneurship in the country can lead to the creation of up to 170 million jobs by 2030, in addition, it will also increase the annual GDP by 1.5%, Harish Krishnan, MD & Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India & SAARC said.

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