Growing Women-Owned Businesse

This project will help women-owned businesses connect to global markets and enhance their growth prospects. WEConnect International, a leading international certification body for women's business enterprises, is leading the project. The organization connects women-owned businesses to large private companies' supply chains. The project will focus on India, where WEConnect will establish a high-level private sector advisory group to inform the project and enhance impact. WEConnect in India IDRC funding will allow researchers to collect and maintain data on female-owned enterprises in India. They will also conduct an analysis of a sample of businesses to understand the data gaps. This work will strengthen WEConnect's eNetwork, which allows companies to identify women-owned suppliers as potential vendors in their supply chains. The project will also provide tools for business and the wider community of practice. This pilot is expected to benefit 500 Indian women-owned enterprises of various sizes. It will also open similar venues for other Indian businesses to access these supply chains. The India pilot will be replicated in another 17 countries.