WEP Nxt: NITI Aayog Partners With Cisco To Foster Women Entrepreneurship In India

NITI Aayog, the government's policy think tank, has partnered with technology major Cisco to foster women entrepreneurship in India, an official release said on Thursday (26 August).

"Building on their shared commitment to empower women entrepreneurs across India, NITI Aayog and Cisco today launched the next phase of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)," the NITI Aayog said in a release.

Titled "WEP Nxt", this next phase of NITI Aayog's flagship platform will leverage Cisco's technology and experience working with India's startup ecosystem to enable more women-owned businesses across the country, it added.

WEP, initially launched by NITI Aayog in 2017, is a first-of-its-kind unified portal that brings together women from diverse backgrounds and offers them access to a multitude of resources, support, and learning.

According to the release, WEP Nxt is a significant step to augment these efforts.

Based on a focused study of Indian women entrepreneurs and their most urgent needs across six key verticals - community and networking, skilling and mentorship, incubation and acceleration programs, and financial, compliance, and marketingassistance - WEP Nxt will be driven by evidence-basedcdecision-making.

The focused study, fuelling this transition, is also being made available for the benefit of the ecosystem.

Additionally, as a part of this initiative, Cisco, in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation, Sattva Consulting, and the DeAsra Foundation, will enable technology-led experiences and engagements to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs at individual and enterprise levels and create new opportunities for growth, the NITI Aayog said.