The Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission and Meesho, India’s fastest-growing internet commerce company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the growth of 1,800 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by providing them an online platform to launch and grow their business and empower the rural women entrepreneurs.
“An MoU between @MDJKSRLM & @Meesho_Official for the empowerment of 1800 SHGs’ members in the UT was signed today. It will help in building lives & livelihood for rural communities & provide greater access to economic activities,financial independence to rural women entrepreneurs,” tweeted Office of the LG.
An MoU between @MDJKSRLM & @Meesho_Official for the empowerment of 1800 SHGs' members in the UT was signed today. It will help in building lives & livelihood for rural communities & provide greater access to economic activities,financial independence to rural women entrepreneurs. pic.twitter.com/kQaXFISXnj
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) November 17, 2022
A government spokesman said that the MoU was signed and exchanged in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, here at Raj Bhavan.
Congratulating women entrepreneurs of the Self-Help Groups and Meesho officials on the occasion, the LG said that the partnership will help in building lives and livelihood for rural communities and provide greater access to economic activities, financial independence to rural women entrepreneurs.
“The partnership of Rural Livelihoods Mission and e-commerce giant Meesho is a significant step in making niche products of Jammu and Kashmir available to the wider customer base, providing SHGs global market to grow their business, and making them Aatma-Nirbhar,” he said.
From shawls and carpets to phool kari, Jammu & Kashmir’s arts and crafts have earned global recognition for their uniqueness. Going online with Meesho will allow these women to sell such products to all corners of India and benefit from higher visibility and additional income. Digital inclusion will help them become self-employed entrepreneurs and fulfill their aspirations of achieving financial independence.
JKRLM Umeed and Meesho have already identified products created by these SHGs that can be sold on the online platform, such as Chabhari and Bina grass items, papier-mâché, essential oils, woolens and crewel embroidered products, made across J&K. JKRLM Umeed on its part will provide all necessary support to boost the digitization of these women entrepreneurs through access to the internet and financial services, it was informed.
Singa said the partnership will also provide an opportunity to both JKRLM & Meesho to scale up rural enterprises from grass root to large scale and bring the change in rural women’s lives.
The LG also highlighted the efforts of the government for promoting women entrepreneurship by building strong grassroots institutions that can foster enduring transformation.
“For the last two years, we have been working towards re-imagining the rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir and providing a strong market linkage and e-commerce platforms to exploit the potential of artisans. About 5.5 lakh women are associated with more than 64,000 SHGs and almost every panchayat has two women entrepreneurs today, ” he said.
“J&K has abundant talent in Handicraft, and through this cooperation, we will be able to empower a large number of women which in turn will empower the community as well as this Union Territory,” he added.
Sanjeev Barnwal, co-founder and CTO, Meesho, said, “We are privileged to work with Umeed-JKRLM and the J&K Government to further our mission of democratizing e-commerce. Women entrepreneurs are a key growth engine of India’s economy and Meesho has empowered lakhs of them to succeed in the online world.”.
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