Hello Mumbai Business Desk 

23rd September, Mumbai:

India’s Public Procurement Policy mandates central Government entities to procure atleast 25% of their annual purchases from MSEs. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India has been developing various strategies to increase Government procurement from MSME enterprises. One of the key targets has been to procure 3% of all purchases from Women-owned MSEs.

Ministry of MSME – Development & Facilitation Office along with Mumbai We Spark Start Up Association in partnership with LAJA organized Women Entrepreneur meet in Mumbai at the MSME Sakinaka office. The program focused on presenting the business opportunities for Women entreprises within the earmarked 3% procurement policy. Along with the same, various Central Government Schemes of the Ministry of MSME were also presented to the attendees.

“Our Ministry has been dedicated towards the development of the MSME sector. To bridge the gap of Government procurement through women enterprises and presenting these opportunities to the Women led businesses, MSME DFO Mumbai has been constantly organizing and presenting these at various platforms. Today, with the participation of more than 75 women businesses, we were successful in creating the awareness of this opportunity among the women enterpreneurs.” said Shri Milind Barapatre, Joint Director and Head, MSME DFO – Mumbai.

A Vendor Development Program (VDP) session was organized by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) as “Energy Partner”, one of the major Public enterprises who have been leading the onboarding of Women led enterprises for their procurement. The session highlighted the various product lines in which women led businesses were thriving and explained them the process of onboarding with ONGC as their vendor.

“Various Government MSME Schemes provide extensive benefits for MSME Businesses. With dedicated focus on Women entrepreneurs, these schemes provide the much-needed support for the them to expand their business. MSME DFO Mumbai is a one-stop solution for all MSME schemes of the Government of India and we are happy to support any Women entrepreneur in their business ventures.” said Shri Praful Umare, Assistant Director, MSME DFO Mumbai.

As “Sustainability Partner”, Tata Solaroof presented the Go Green initiative through installation of Rooftop Solar for businesses along with the economic benefits of Solar power. “Banking Partner” Canara Bank presented various Financial Products available for Businesses. “Insurace Partner” Oriental Insurance Co. presented the importance of insuring the Businesses in case of any disaster. The sessions provided various important aspects of an MSME businesses which are usually ignored.

“Laja is a forum dedicated to the empowerment and holistic development of Women in India. It has been created with the objective to foster an environment of engagement, collaboration and support aiming to help women enrich their lives and reach their full potential.” said Ms. Riddhi Doshi, Founder, LAJA.

With more than 75 Women businesses in attendance, the interactive session answered various queries of the Women entrepreneurs along with opening up the new business opportunities.

“This was the 3rd edition of our successful MSME Industry engagement series in partnership with MSME DFO Mumbai. We Spark Start Up Association will continue the series to reachout to every sectoral MSMEs to create awareness about the Government of India schemes and also support them to take the benefit of the same.” said Shri Umesh Unnikrishnan, Director, We Spark Start Up Association.

You May Watch Below Video Interview :