NITI Aayog, Reliance Foundation Felicitate Five Women Kirana Entrepreneurs from Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi: Five women kirana entrepreneurs were felicitated by the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, 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 recently, a press release said.

The felicitation ceremony in Delhi was attended by Dr. Joram Aniya, Member, NITI Aayog; Ms. Anna Roy, Mission Director, WEP and Programme Director, NITI Aayog; Ms. Deepthi Nukalapati, Chief – Women Empowerment, Reliance Foundation; and Ms. Sonal Jaitly, Associate Partner and Global Lead – GEDSI, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), along with the awardees and their family members. The five outstanding women entrepreneurs who were felicitated were presented with a grant of INR 1,00,000 each in recognition of their entrepreneurial commitment and progress.

As per the press statement, the five women entrepreneurs represented inspiring examples of resilience, adaptability, and entrepreneurial leadership within their communities. During the ceremony, they shared their learning experiences and their vision for expanding their businesses by implementing the techniques and knowledge gained through the training programme.

Empowering Rural Women Kirana Entrepreneurs (RWKEs) is a pilot initiative by Reliance Foundation, in partnership with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), and implemented with MicroSave Consulting (MSC) as the technical partner to strengthen women-led kirana stores across the districts of Barwani, Vidisha, and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh.

As per the press release, the programme was designed in recognition of the critical role that rural women entrepreneurs play in supporting household incomes and local economies, while acknowledging the structural barriers that often constrain 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 1,200+ hours of structured learning across 175+ training sessions spanning six blocks (Barwani, Pati, Ganj Basoda, Vidisha, Obedullaganj, and Sanchi) across three districts (Vidisha, Raisen, and Barwani), reaching 108 women entrepreneurs.

Delivered in local languages through participatory sessions, the capacity-building curriculum equips women with practical skills ranging from budgeting and bookkeeping to supplier linkages, inventory management, and enterprise growth planning. DeshGujarat