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Five women kirana entrepreneurs from Madhya Pradesh were felicitated by the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), incubated at NITI Aayog, in partnership with Reliance Foundation under the Empowering Rural Women Kirana Entrepreneurs (RWKEs) ATR pilot programme at a special event held at NITI Aayog recently.
The five entrepreneurs were awarded grants of Rs 1,00,000 each in recognition of their entrepreneurial commitment and progress. They represented inspiring examples of resilience, adaptability and entrepreneurial leadership within their communities. The felicitation ceremony was attended by Dr Joram Aniya, Member, NITI Aayog; Ana Roy, Mission Director, WEP and Programme Director, NITI Aayog; Deepthi Nukalapati, Chief - Women Empowerment, Reliance Foundation; and Sonal Jaitly, Associate Partner and Global Lead - GEDSI, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), along with the awardees and their family members. During the event, the women entrepreneurs shared their learning experiences and their vision to expand their businesses by implementing the techniques and knowledge gained through the training programme. The Empowering Rural Women Kirana Entrepreneurs (RWKEs) is a pilot initiative by Reliance Foundation in partnership with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), with MicroSave Consulting (MSC) serving as the technical partner. The programme aims to strengthen women-led kirana stores across the districts of Barwani, Vidisha and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh. The initiative was designed in recognition of the important role rural women entrepreneurs play in supporting household incomes and local economies, while also addressing the structural barriers that often limit the growth of their enterprises. Through targeted capacity-building and handholding support, the programme focused on four key areas--financial capability, digital adoption, market orientation and business planning. Since its launch, the RWKE programme has delivered more than 1,200 hours of structured learning through over 175 training sessions across six blocks--Barwani, Pati, Ganj Basoda, Vidisha, Obedullaganj and Sanchi--covering three districts of Vidisha, Raisen and Barwani, benefiting 108 women entrepreneurs. The training was delivered in local languages through participatory sessions and equipped women entrepreneurs with practical business skills ranging from budgeting and bookkeeping to supplier linkages, inventory management and enterprise growth planning. According to the organisers, the programme highlights the importance of collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders in strengthening rural entrepreneurship ecosystems. By combining institutional support, technical expertise and on-ground implementation, it has created a structured pathway for rural women entrepreneurs to improve their business capabilities and enterprise outcomes. The programme also highlighted the growing role of women-led kirana stores as important links in rural supply chains and local economies. It noted that targeted interventions can improve business resilience, increase digital adoption and enable better financial and operational decision-making among women entrepreneurs. Reliance Foundation said it remains committed to women's empowerment through multiple pathways, including economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, to create a wider impact on individuals as well as society. (ANI)
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