Building back better for women means challenging the status quo of women’s participation in the economy. Women constitute 48% of the population but form only 21% of the workforce. For the MSME sector, it means raising the bar above its current contribution of 30% of the GDP.

Impact of the Pandemic on the MSME Sector and Women

Last year at the height of the first wave 43% of the MSME sector, that is 75 Million MSMEs were faced with the risk of closure. The threat to the MSME sector implied that 33% of India’s manufactured output and the job opportunities for a substantial proportion of 120 million people were at risk.

Women’s participation in the economy is one of the quickest ways of empowerment and sustainable growth. The pandemic has negatively impacted 73% of women entrepreneurs, and 20% had their revenue nearly wiped out. Another 35% of the women entrepreneurs experienced a decline of 25%–75% in revenue.

Women Can Turn Around the fortunes of the MSME Sector

● Connect Womens’ Entrepreneurial Spirit to Market Access

● Enable Digital Empowerment of Women

● Connect Women Entrepreneurs to Digital Credit Platforms

If 50% of women join India’s workforce, the Indian economy can add up to 9 percentage points to the real GDP growth rate.

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