The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) have collaborated for a mission aimed at empowering women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship.

The partnership will support women looking to start and expand their enterprises, particularly in sectors such as the care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, and food packaging. Focused on fostering entrepreneurship development and accelerating enterprise growth, the three-year project, extendable beyond 2025, will cover eight cities in the initial phase, according to a government release.

Speaking on the occasion, Rahul Kapoor, Joint Secretary and Mission Director, DAY-NULM and PM SVANidhi, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), GoI, said, “DAY-NULM has a very important objective of empowering urban communities. We are hopeful that through this partnership with UNDP, we will be able to make our interventions more effective and impactful under the Mission.”

Leveraging its experience in linking over 200,000 women to better employment opportunities, UNDP will offer national-level capacity-building support to DAY-NULM. This support will focus on knowledge generation and management, such as compiling compendiums of best practices related to urban poverty, to enhance the implementation of national-level schemes.

Stressing on increasing the role of women in the employment sector, Hoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India said, “Women entrepreneurship is a proven strategy for poverty alleviation, financial independence, and reshaping gender norms. Today, women account for only 15 per cent of the total entrepreneurs in India. By increasing this number, we not only empower women but also accelerate economic growth and ensure a happy and healthy society.”

UNDP and DAY-NULM will jointly engage in on-ground mobilization activities that involve identifying pockets of urban poverty and potential entrepreneurs, as well as facilitating access to Business Development Services. Handholding support will be provided to the cohort to formalize their businesses, establish bank linkages, and secure access to finance and markets, the release stated.

Additionally, UNDP will also contribute to the initiative by developing community business mentors called Biz-Sakhis in selected project locations. These mentors, who possess valuable business knowledge, can support new and existing enterprises, and serve as a resource for DAY-NULM at a later stage.