WEP boosts women-led development with state expansion, AI focus

India's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is expanding into states and strengthening its public-private partnership model to boost women-led development, as it builds on its original mandate of bridging information gaps and moves into emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, Anna Roy, Principal Economic Advisor to NITI Aayog and Mission Director of WEP told ANI on Wednesday.

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WEP's Founding Vision and Continued Relevance

"When it was established and launched on the International Women's Day (March 8) in 2018, at that time primarily it was for overcoming information asymmetry amongst women entrepreneurs relating to various government schemes," Roy told ANI in an exclusive interview.

She added that WEP's vision also included "handholding them wherever required and also kind of, you know, addressing the behavioural challenges" that prevent women from viewing entrepreneurship as "a viable alternative, career alternative."

Roy said the platform, more than seven years later since its launch in 2018, continues to be relevant as women remain underrepresented in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem. "I feel the vision with which WEP was launched remains valid today," she said, adding that despite several initiatives, "still we find that it is not really at the desirable level."

A 'Workable Model' of Public-Private Partnership

Roy described WEP as a collaborative model that brings together government and industry. "Initiatives like WEP are really needed in today's time as well, which brings the public and the private sector together," she said, linking the platform's work to the Prime Minister's emphasis on women-led development and the goal of achieving the "Viksit Bharat goals of making the country a developed nation by 2047."

She said WEP has evolved into "a very, very workable... time tested, a workable model of public-private partnership," adding that advances in technology have helped extend its reach. "With the emerging technology, our job has become that much more easier to reach the last mile," Roy said.

Pioneering 'AI by Her' Challenge

WEP has also taken on a role in emerging technologies. India is set to host the Global AI Impact Summit in February 2026, organised by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and the National AI Mission. One of the initiatives under the summit is the "AI by Her" challenge, focused on women engaged in AI.

"The responsibility of conducting AI by Her was given to WEP by MeitY," Roy said, adding that WEP is conducting the challenge "in collaboration with AI Mission, National AI Mission."

Expansion into States for Last-Mile Delivery

To improve last-mile delivery, WEP has begun expanding into states. Roy said it was felt in late 2023 that "we need to go to the states," as development happens there.

State chapters have been launched in Telangana, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Assam, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. "In the spirit of localization of the central initiative, we have left it to the state government to design their specific WEP," she said.

Strong Industry Support and User Growth

Industry support has been central to the platform's growth. "Industry has been very, very proactive," Roy said, citing capacity-building programmes, mentorship and funding support from corporates and industry bodies such as FICCI.

As a result, Roy said WEP "can boast of having more than 98,500 registered users," describing the response as "very good and very promising." (ANI)