Empowering women will create millions of businesses, jobs: FB

new delhi — As four out of five women in India wish to become entrepreneurs, the country is missing out on a potential 15.5 million new businesses and 64 million additional jobs by not addressing the challenges facing such women, a new Facebook study said.

The study revealed that if just 52 per cent of women were empowered to start a business today, it would not only boost economic growth, but also help to build 15.5 million new businesses, and create 64 million additional jobs — all by the end of 2021.

“If we were to harness the largely untapped potential of women’s entrepreneurship and provide them greater support, it could lead to more jobs being created, economic growth and more diverse and representative small business communities,” Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy, Facebook India, South and Central Asia, said.

“We are very optimistic about partnering with platforms like Facebook to empower women. We are trying to forge deep partnerships with platforms like Google, Cisco and Intel for the betterment of woman’s livelihood through technology,” added Aruna Sundarajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in her keynote address.

Ahead of the International Women’s Day that falls on March 8, Facebook also launched “SheLeadsTech”, a programme that will give women-founded/cofounded start-ups access to a yearlong programme that provides tools, mentorship and resources to help overcome some of the barriers they face.

“Through Facebook #SheMeansBusiness and our new #SheLeadsTech programme we hope that by the end of 2017, we’ll have inspired more women across the country to take the leap -- and help close the gap on that untapped opportunity for millions more women and in turn ensure our economy remains strong and thrives,” Das added. —