Never been a better time to be an entrepreneur in India, says KTR

Industries and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao laid the foundation for a Women Entrepreneurs International Trade and Technology Centre in Hyderabad on April 28, 2023

Industries and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Friday laid the foundation for a Women Entrepreneurs International Trade and Technology Centre (WE ITTC), the first of its kind marketing hub in the country sanctioned to the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP).

Speaking at a function organised in the city, for the facility that would be established at A-GRIP, Nandigama in Patancheru mandal, the Minister said there had never been a better time to be an entrepreneur in India with the governments, at the Centre and in the States, acknowledging the contribution of entrepreneurs as well as enabling the process of entrepreneurship.

Mr. Rao said given their strengths, women entrepreneurs should aim higher and “give men a run for their money”. The Telangana government had established three parks for women entrepreneurs and if required was willing to set up more such, he said, underscoring the need for organisations such as ALEAP to help promote women entrepreneurship in rural areas too.

In a release, ALEAP said the WE ITTC had been sanctioned under the MSE CDP scheme with the support from Union Ministry of MSME and the Telangana government. WE ITTC promotes trade and technology among women entrepreneurs from India, SAARC and ASEAN countries.

ALEAP president and senior vice chairperson of WE ITTC Rama Devi Kanneganti said ALEAP had 10,000 members spread across the country. Since marketing proved to a big issue, ALEAP wanted a part of government procurements to be earmarked for women entrepreneurs, she said.

Additional Development Commissioner, MSME Development and Facilitation Office (MSME-DFO), under the Union Ministry of MSME, D. Chandra Sekhar said Telangana was the only State to have such a marketing hub and WE ITTC had the potential to emerge as a one-stop-shop for all women entrepreneurs.

Coinciding with the programme was the presentation of graduation certificates to a few innovative startups supported by AIC ALEAP WE HUB and felicitation of Autocracy Machinery, one of the innovative startups promoted by the HUB that got $1 million funding from AIM, NITI Aayog and Venture Catalyst.