SIDBI’s promotional & digital bouquets for women
Over 91,000 women have been sanctioned Stand-Up India loans since inception in April 2016, which accounts for 82% of the total sanctions:
With adoption of Vision 2.0, SIDBI has reoriented its focus on promotion and development with thrust on MSMEs, particularly the unserved/underserved pockets/segments and entrepreneurship development. It has been taking various major initiatives for kindling entrepreneurship and help the MSME ecosystem by addressing its challenges.
100 SWAVALAMBIS
SIDBI celebrated its foundation day on 2 April 2021 as Swavalamban Prerna Diwas. It released an e-booklet that captures the inspirational Swavalambis (homepreneurs) whohavestoodthegroundofentrepreneurship amidst challenges. The e-booklet brings out the differentiator partnership of SIDBI and sewing machine maker ‘Usha’ and its impact. The partnership has been on women centric initiatives for poverty alleviation, employment generation and fostering entrepreneurship within the rural landscape. As of today, 1700 Swavalamban Silai Schools have come up in 24 districts spanning across 7 states. Almost all these 1700 Swavalambis have overcome challenges with their determination to shape dreams. They crossed rough waters of society / family pressures, walked the tight rope of disbelief to self-confidence and now are poised to be role models.
V. Satya Venkata Rao, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI says SIDBI will continue to take its mandate of serving the MSME ecosystem through credit and development plus engagements on financial and nonfinancial side. “Besides encouraging more youths to join the path of entrepreneurship, we shall continue to bring solutions to enterprise ecosystem. We salute the spirit of MSMEs who faced challenges of covid and emerged stronger,” he adds.
SIDBI also launched the annual edition of Swavalamban Kadam which documents different engagements which are contributing to society and ecosystem.
WEBINARS FOR WOMEN, SC-ST
SIDBI has so far successfully completed 16 webinar episodes of ‘Swavalamban Sankalp’, a series of one-day awareness outreach and business opportunity program, to give a fillip to the Stand-Up India scheme, a flagship program of the Government of India for empowering unserved/underserved segments of women and members of SC-ST. SIDBI, in association with the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India (COWE), has launched a 20-webinar series. The 16th webinar was held in association with Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DICCI). SIDBI provides an opportunity for one to become ‘job giver’ as against ‘job seeker’. While the national campaign commenced on 3 February 2021, the 2nd webinar was held on 10 February 2021. The webinar series is held every Wednesday.
Rao explains: “This mega campaign through Sinai the webinar series attempts to ignite the spark of Swavalambi in the targeted SC-ST youth and women entrepreneurs. I am happy to see it evolving with every program. Besides experiential sharing by bankers on bankability and scheme contours, invited businesses showcase their franchise models as also successful Stand-Up India entrepreneurs share their inspirational journey for aspirants.”
As of now over 91,000 women have been sanctioned Stand-Up India loans since the inception of the program in April 2016, which accounts for 82% of the total sanctions. During 2020-21, loans have been sanctioned to over 6000 women, which contributes to 75% of the total Stand-Up loans of the year. Some parts of these loans are also given to youth (non-women).
Rao adds: “On International Women’s Day, we tried to reach the unserved and underserved women across the country through various financial and non-financial access initiatives, including promotional as also digital bouquets. We believe in continuously strengthening the ecosystem particularly for serving livelihood and micropreneurs. The Government of India has further announced relaxations in the scheme on account of lower promoter contribution and adding agriallied activities. This is an inclusive and highly impact-oriented step towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat and promoting local entrepreneurship. We are hopeful that more and more rural and unserved segments shall onboard.”
TRAINING WOMEN PRISONERS
SIDBI has continued its steps to mainstream the unserved/underserved segments by empowering women prisoners through skilling training programs and equipping them with entrepreneurial readiness. In this regard jail inmates in Punjab are being empowered through skilling. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Punjab’s Minister for Jail and Cooperation, recently inaugurated a skill development program, sponsored by SIDBI, for 35 women inmates of Central Jail, Bathinda. Rao says: “This is yet another initiative of ours under Mission Swavalamban where we continue to inclusively address the aspirations of leftout segments of society and help them emerge AtmaNirbhar. We believe that appropriate skilling / upskilling coupled with exposure on being Swavalamabi is a long-term solution for acceptance of these Jail inmates, once they come out.”