EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

THE NEED

Women’s economic empowerment is essential for inclusive and sustainable development. However, women from low-income communities often face structural barriers that limit their access to financial systems, entrepreneurship opportunities, and livelihood resources.

United Way Mumbai’s Empowering Women Entrepreneurs programme advances women’s financial inclusion and entrepreneurship development by equipping women with the knowledge, skills, and resources required to build sustainable livelihoods. Through financial literacy, enterprise development training, and improved access to financial services, the initiative enables women to establish and strengthen women-led microenterprises, improve household incomes, and participate more actively in local economies.

In India, gender disparities such as lack of schooling, gender-based violence, forced drop-outs, early marriages and constraints on mobility continue to be widespread. The unequal norms faced by women deny them their right to participate in the workforce along with economic independence. The Female workforce participation rate (WPR) stands at 31.8%, which is almost half of the male WPR at 73.2%. According to a McKinsey Global Institute study, India could boost its GDP by $2.9 trillion by 2025 if the female workforce participation rate is improved by ten percentage points.

SOLUTION

United Way Mumbai adopts a multi-dimensional approach to strengthening women’s entrepreneurship, addressing the financial, social, and knowledge barriers that often prevent women from pursuing income-generating opportunities.

The programme combines financial capability building, entrepreneurship training, access to financial services, and enterprise support to help women establish and grow sustainable businesses.

Corporate partners, foundations, and individual donors can help expand opportunities for women to build sustainable livelihoods and achieve financial independence.

This support can enable:

• Financial literacy and entrepreneurship training programmes

• Formation and strengthening of Self Help Groups

• Enterprise toolkits and start-up support for women-led businesses

• Access to formal financial services and government schemes

• Market linkages and business mentorship for women entrepreneurs

• Expansion of the programme to new communities and geographies

Key programme interventions include:

STORIES FROM THE FIELD