A Young Lady from Jaintia Hills Among the Few Selected for Her & Now Cohort 2.0

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 17, 2020

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women’ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE), to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India.

Under the name of ‘Her&Now’, the project aims to contribute to enabling an environment for women-led enterprises in India.

The four-year project, initiated in 2018, works on different levels:

Together with our three local partners, they run incubation and acceleration support programmes in tier II and tier III cities in the North Eastern Region, Rajasthan and Telangana.

“We currently support 147 women entrepreneurs to transform their business ideas into enterprises and set their existing businesses onto a growth track. We equip women entrepreneurs with critical business skills, customised support through mentorship, access to market opportunities and linkages to financial institutions. We connect women entrepreneurs and strengthen their self-image as business owners by building peer networks.” their website says.

Based on the experiences of these pilot programmes, the project works together with MoSDE and state-level institutions on designing gender-sensitive government support schemes for enterprises.

Through a film- and media campaign, the project raises awareness of the contribution of women entrepreneurs to economic growth and Indian society.

In order to stir a positive mindset change, inspiring short-films about women entrepreneurship are produced and screened across India.

We talked with Neha Nialang, the selected women entrepreneur working on her startup “Dalade” from Jaintia Hills on her experience and what she expects to learn from the programme.

“Though young, I want to set an example to other women led entrepreneurship ventures in the state. We need to grow and grasp the opportunity to learn and further cement ourselves with international standards. The world is becoming small with the use of Internet and we need to connect the dots here. No geographical area is the problem here now, it’s all with our grit and determination to achieve“, said an escatic Neha Nialang

The programme will offer Incubation for women entrepreneurs over a seven-month incubation programme from tier II and III cities in the North Eastern Region, Rajasthan and Telangana, who want to set up their own enterprise. The programme will offer critical business-skill modules, self-improvement learning and mentoring.