New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS): The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), a public-private partnership under the Niti Aayog, on Friday announced the launch of a pilot programme in partnership with Urban Company to support women in the beauty and wellness sector to scale up their businesses.

“Urban Company will spearhead the programme, collaborating with other key stakeholders to identify women working in micro-units and support their business growth,” Niti Aayog said.

The pilot will shortlist 25 women based on an open application from Delhi-NCR.

They will be trained across six key ecosystem needs including skilling, legal and compliance, access to finance, market, and business development services along with mentorship and networking.

"Supporting women entrepreneurs is vital to achieve women-led development. WEP provides comprehensive support to women entrepreneurs right from training, skilling, access to resources, mentors and networks. This continuum of support enables them to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey," said Anna Roy, Principal Economic Adviser, NITI Aayog and Mission Director, WEP.

Roy said that as “women dominate the beauty and wellness sector”. He noted that the tie up with Urban Company will significantly help “create a robust ecosystem for women in the beauty and wellness sector”. It will also enable them more sustainable business, Roy added.

WEP, incubated in NITI Aayog in 2018 as an aggregator platform, transitioned into a public-private partnership in 2022.

It aims to strengthen India’s women entrepreneurship ecosystem to promote women-led development as a reality.

The WEP has over 30,000 women entrepreneurs already engaged on its platform. The new partnership will be a unique public-private collaboration aimed at promoting and supporting women in the beauty and wellness sector.

The collaboration will not only equip women with the skills and knowledge to manage their businesses independently but also open doors to new opportunities and increased earnings.