The US Consulate in Kolkata has launched a Year-Long Initiative for Empowering Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs from Jharkhandia. In partnership with social enterprises, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program will train 30 women artisans from the region to develop their business ideas as well as train them in skill training, financial literacy, and market readiness.
These include the communities of Jharkhand that form many indigenous communities whose identities are based on their art. Craftwork, handlooms and bamboo products are areas that can be found abundantly in the area. But unfortunately women with such beautiful small businesses face constraining challenges and limitations in their economic advancement. First, there is limited market access and lack of entrepreneurial skills among women artisans, preventing them from engaging fully with the formal economy and thus actualizing their business potential.
The AWE program intends to help women artisans build sustainable businesses by equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need. Training offered to participants will encompass improved business acumen in a range of topics from the understanding of financial management, exploration of new market opportunities, and capacity to increase the scale of their enterprise and economic independence to generate incomes and contribute to the economy of the local communities they belong to.
This reflects the continued US Consulate efforts towards strengthening the local economy while continuing its pursuit of fostering gender equality. By implementing this program, the US Consulate aims to give more women in Jharkhand the capacity to rise above their traditional limits to emerge as leaders in their field.
