FIEO launches SheTrades India to empower 3 lakh women entrepreneurs

To achieve its ambitious goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047, India must utilize the full potential of its 48.2 per cent female population. With a target of reaching $1 trillion in exports by 2030, women-led businesses will significantly help the country's economic growth. Acknowledging this, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and with financial support from the UK government, launched the SheTrades India Initiative Hub. This initiative will bring together governments, the private sector, and entrepreneurs on the same platform to build the businesses of women and to create a fairer, more sustainable global economy.

Ashwani Kumar, president (Officiating), FIEO remarked, “The SheTrades India Hub marks a pivotal moment for India’s trade ecosystem. This initiative is not only a step forward in empowering women entrepreneurs but also a strategic move to harness their untapped potential in global markets.”

Women entrepreneurship in India is in a sorry state especially if one looks at the total population percentage as less than 5 per cent of women in India participate in trade. According to the reports of the Economic Survey 2024-25, only 22 per cent of all MSMEs in India are owned by women entrepreneurs and this percentage shrinks further as women’s ownership of “small” businesses is 12 per cent and further to 7 per cent for “medium” businesses.

The launch of the SheTrades India initiative is an encouraging step by the government to give the necessary push to women entrepreneurship. With 21 SheTrades in-country and regional hubs across several countries and a global network of over 260 partner organisations from 94 countries, SheTrade aims to help three lakh women businesses in India.

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, director general of foreign trade (DGFT), said in his inaugural address that FIEO and ITC should look at enrolling three lakh women entrepreneurs through this initiative launched today.

SheTrades, with its trade fairs and trade missions, aims to establish direct connections between pre-vetted buyers, UK companies, and target women-led businesses, deliver sector-specific information to buyers and suppliers, foster buyer-supplier trust, and establish new market linkages. Apart from this, SheTrades aims to help women learn the financial aspects of business and how to market it while bringing in people with experience to help the women as well.

Kanika Sahijeani, founder and creative director of Pusaaka, a handicraft brand that creates functional and wearable art pieces using biodegradable material shared her experience of paying heavy custom duties while importing sample pineapple leather from Spain due to an issue in paperwork which is supposed to be zero. She said, “ I was waiting for the launch of the SheTrades initiative for so long as it will inform women like me when it comes to importing materials and also with marketing. I paid a lot of money due to lack of proper information, a gap SheTrades will bridge”.

SheTrades is accessible to women in urban areas, but the problem comes when it comes to small businesses in rural areas and hinterlands. To tackle this, SheTrades is organising workshops in villages and rural populations and reaches out to women on the margins. They also aim to collaborate with the states in the northeast to promote local business. Bringing rural businesses online will provide a bigger market boosting the economy in turn.