Signature projects

Swavalambini: A women entrepreneurship programme

  • calendarJul 29, 2025
  • time 2 min

The Swavalambini initiative was launched under the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and NITI Aayog to strengthen women-led development in India. The program intended to shift the narrative from women as scheme beneficiaries to women as leaders and entrepreneurs by building structured pathways to entrepreneurship within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

MSC helped MSDE conceptualize, design, and implement the Swavalambini programme across multiple states. We developed a structured, stage-wise journey for aspiring women entrepreneurs and delivered key interventions, including the Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP) and the Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WEDP). It covered areas such as business planning, finance, compliance, and marketing. The team also facilitated Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs) to build mentoring capacities within HEIs, while it also provided structured mentorship and handheld support to guide participants from ideation to enterprise.

As part of the initiative, MSC designed and managed business plan competitions to identify high-potential ideas, developed monitoring and evaluation tools, and worked closely with ecosystem partners to enable national-level implementation. Through these efforts, the programme established institutional mechanisms that support women entrepreneurs within HEIs and beyond.

The initiative trained 900+ women across 10+ HEIs in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and several Northeastern regions. Of these, 300 women were selected for intensive support through WEDP, with 10% expected to launch enterprises. The program enhanced institutional capacity for long-term mentoring and created a supportive, women-led entrepreneurial ecosystem within higher education. It also facilitated access to seed funding and recognition through a NITI Aayog-led reward initiative, to contribute meaningfully to India’s broader women-led development agenda.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and NITI Aayog commissioned the project.

Leave comments