FIEO launches SheTrades India Hub to help women entrepreneurs, boost exports

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Tuesday launched the SheTrades India Hub, an initiative aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs and strengthening the country's export ecosystem.

This endeavour, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and funded by the UK Government's SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme, positions FIEO as the host institution for the 20th SheTrades Hub globally.

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in his address, emphasised the government's commitment to fostering an inclusive trade environment.

"We export around 800 billion dollars of goods and services every year and our ambition is to reach 2 trillion dollars of exports in goods and services in the next few years. But if that has to be achieved, it is not the exporters based only in metropolitan cities that will contribute to this but exporters in our hinterland... they will have to join hands to lead our export initiative," Sarangi said.

Talking about B2C e-commerce exports, the DGFT said China's e-commerce export last year was USD 360 billion, whereas in comparison, India does only about USD 5-8 billion of e-commerce exports.

"So this shows, the challenge that India has, and also the opportunity that India has, in expanding its e-commerce exports and in allowing our women entrepreneurs, our artisans, our weavers, our gems and jewellery manufacturers, our AYUSH and wellness product manufacturers to explore the global market and proliferate in the global market and showcase the quality and the goodness of Indian products," Sarangi said.

He highlighted the pivotal role of women entrepreneurs in driving economic growth and expressed optimism that the SheTrades India Hub would serve as a catalyst for integrating more women-led businesses into global trade.

"We are working out the details of an Export Promotion Mission which has been announced in the current year's Budget. So in this Export Promotion Mission, if there are concrete ideas through which this SheTrades initiative can be supported or taken forward, we will be more than happy to work with you," Sarangi said.

The government on February 1 announced the setting up of an Export Promotion Mission with an outlay of Rs 2,250 crore to promote the country's outbound shipments.

Sarangi said there are a few other areas where his department is in discussion with ITC to make trade connect e-platform more robust so that people's access to information relating to the kind of products they can sell, markets they can explore and the kind of FTA benefits that they can avail for exports and the events they can participate in, along with guidance required for exporting through video tutorials, etc.

He added that Trade Connect platform with the support of ITC, SheTrades India Hub will also further help in promoting women-led exports growth.

The DGFT also said that FIEO and ITC should look at enrolling 3 lakh women entrepreneurs through this initiative.

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, underscored the global impact of SheTrades Hubs, noting that they have supported thousands of women entrepreneurs worldwide.

She expressed confidence that the SheTrades India Hub would provide Indian women entrepreneurs with the tools and networks necessary to thrive in international markets.

The SheTrades India Hub will serve as a comprehensive resource centre for women-led businesses across the nation, offering capacity-building workshops, mentoring sessions, business match-making events, and policy advocacy.

These services aim to support women entrepreneurs in accessing international markets, finance, and business development opportunities, thereby addressing challenges such as limited access to resources and markets, FIEO stated. PTI RSN HVA HVA