British Council Signs MoU to Support Womenpreneurs

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 18 March 2026

• British Council enters into MoU to support women’s entrepreneurship and skill development
• Partnership includes Women’s Collective Forum and Alliance for Global Good
• Initiative focuses on strengthening women’s skills, leadership, and networking

The British Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote women’s entrepreneurship and skills development in India through SPARK – The 100K Collective. The MoU has been signed in partnership with the Women’s Collective Forum and Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity & Equality.

The SPARK – The 100K Collective initiative aims to empower one lakh women entrepreneurs across 300 locations in India by filling gaps in access to resources, markets, and institutional support, especially for women entrepreneurs moving beyond micro-enterprises.

At the event, Smriti Irani, Founder, Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity & Equality, said, “The importance of collaboration across sectors to advance gender equity cannot be overstated. The ability to access skills, resources, and networks has been seen as a means to enable women entrepreneurs to grow their business and contribute to economic growth.”

As part of this partnership, expertise will be provided by the British Council for English language and digital communication so that women entrepreneurs can improve their business skills and expand their markets. British Council Chief Executive Scott McDonald said, “Education, skills, and connectivity play an important role in expanding opportunities. This partnership will help women entrepreneurs improve their communication and expand their businesses.”

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in New Delhi in the presence of senior officials and partners. Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for Education, said, “Communication skills play an important role in enabling access to opportunities and markets, especially for women.”

Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said, “It is expected that this partnership will help women entrepreneurs participate more effectively in global supply chains through improvements in English language skills.”

The partners said that this partnership will help build a stronger ecosystem for women-led businesses through skills development, governance, digitalization, and leadership, and enhance women’s participation in India’s economic development.