8 NOVEMBER2025The Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has launched a comprehensive initiative to promote women-led entrepreneurship across the state. FKCCI president Uma Reddy is spearheading the effort, the first woman to take the helm of the 108-year-old industry body.Speaking in Madikeri, Uma Reddy said women are rapidly emerging as strong business partners in Karnataka's MSME landscape. As part of the chamber's new initiatives, FKCCI will host an International Women's Entrepreneurship Conference on November 19 in Bengaluru. The event will feature global entrepreneurs, mentors, and policymakers, spotlighting opportunities in tourism, culture, and creative sectors. She noted that the conference aims to inspire young women and connect them with knowledge and markets.Karnataka currently has 7.4 lakh entrepreneurs, with women forming a growing share of this figure, particularly in small-scale industries. FKCCI has set a goal of increasing the total number of entrepreneurs to 10 lakh in the coming years.To support this growth, FKCCI has urged the government to reserve 30 percent of land and workspaces in upcoming industrial parks for women entrepreneurs, overcoming infrastructure access challenges that frequently hold women back. Uma Reddy stressed that poor road conditions and logistics hurdles continue to hurt industries in many regions, including Bengaluru. FKCCI will push for improved infrastructure to align local capabilities with global standards.The chamber is also working on a dedicated digital platform to bridge skills with employment opportunities, especially for youth. Uma Reddy said international alliances would be critical to positioning Karnataka as both a competitive investment destination and a major tourism hub. IN FOCUSFKCCI INITIATIVE TO BOOST WOMEN-LED ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN K'TAKARURAL WOMEN LAUNCH VENTURES UNDER PAU'S NIDHI-TBI INITIATIVE· FKCCI pushes major support for women entrepreneurs under President Uma Reddy· International Women's Entrepreneurship Conference on November 19· New Digital Platform to be introduced to link Youth Skills with EmploymentIn rural Rajpura, Vasu and Meena Kumari are embarking on an entrepreneurial journey with the help of the NIDHI-TBI programme of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).Both women have moved from modest beginnings to building their firms within the emerging start-up ecosystem of Punjab.Meena started making multipurpose cleaning products based on bioenzymes due to demand from consumers for environmentally friendly products.Her interest intensified following a visit to PAU's Skill Development Centre where she attended a session featuring Dr. Ramandeep Singh, Director of School of Business Studies and Principal Investigator of NIDHI-TBI (DST, GoI), who made a presentation that motivated her to seek alternatives from nature to synthetic cleaners.With the assistance of the NIDHI-TBI team, Meena enhanced her product design, marketing, and consumer engagement. Dr. Poonam A. Sachdev, Co-PI and Lead Food Technologist, appreciated her focus on sustainability, while Sameer Gautam, Business Manager, offered inputs on packaging and customer engagement.Pallavi Kalyan, AEO, highlighting increasing participation of women in innovation-driven businesses.Vasu, Glowmore Skincare's founder, turned a passion for natural beauty products into an enterprise. With the mentorship and support of NIDHI-TBI, she opened an online shop and marketing campaign, growing her customer base and brand recognition.The program is designed to support entrepreneurs especially women into becoming better entrepreneurs with the necessary mentorship, tools, and networks to grow their businesses, says Gurinder Singh, NIDHI-TBI CEO.These efforts are part of a larger pattern of rural women entering the entrepreneurial arena with institutional backing. PAU's NIDHI-TBI programme remains an incubator where ideas from all over Punjab are nurtured, sharpened, and scaled.From Rajpura to Samrala, women entrepreneurs are proving that innovation and entrepreneurship are happening both in urban and rural parts of the state.
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