Piyush Goyal Pushes Global Trade Opportunities for Women

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Thursday, 10 September 2026

India will work closely with BRICS member and partner countries to create greater opportunities for women-led enterprises in international trade, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance Women-Led Development Conference in New Delhi.

Addressing the conference, Piyush highlighted the key challenges faced by entrepreneurs seeking to expand into international markets, including access to finance, buyers and markets, as well as predictable rules and regulations that support trade. He said India is ready to share its experience in empowering women entrepreneurs with the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance and the wider BRICS business community.

Highlighting India’s progress in women’s financial inclusion, Piyush said nearly 300 million bank accounts have been opened for women over the past 12 years. The government has also supported women seeking to establish businesses and livelihoods through collateral-free loans, including those without established credit histories.

Key Highlights:

• India will work with BRICS countries to expand international trade opportunities for women-led enterprises
• Over 68 percent of the 560 million loans extended to small entrepreneurs have been sanctioned to women entrepreneurs
• Piyush called for more women-led business delegations, digital trade adoption and a common BRICS trade platform to support women entrepreneurs

He said that there are now almost nine million self-help groups, cooperatives and other women's collectives linked with around 100 million rural women. Lakhpati Didis are over 30 million women who are now making more than ₹1 lakh per annum in their personal income. India has also sanctioned approximately 560 million loans to the small entrepreneurs of the country, with more than 68 per cent of these loans being sanctioned to women entrepreneurs.

Piyush emphasized the importance of empowering women to be more economically independent and contribute to the development of India. He urged women to not only be the recipients of development programs but also active participants and builders of New India.

The minister also mentioned the meeting of the BRICS Commerce and Industry Ministers in Jaipur where member countries agreed to the principles for the assessment of small exporters, which would be done on a voluntary basis. The evaluation of entrepreneurs should not only be based on the invoices and records of payments, but also their skills and improvement with the passage of time.

Piyush said that the Jaipur Consensus calls for the development of a common platform for international trade which could enable linking of businesses with the buyers in the member countries of the group. The platform can also enhance visibility on the product needs, trade possibilities and facilitate financial institutions and intermediaries to help women entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Piyush urged more women entrepreneurs to represent their business ventures for international exhibitions, conferences, business forums and buyer-seller meets. He also recommended the creation of additional sector-specific women-led business delegations to facilitate entrepreneurs to establish international networks and become part of the global value chains and explore opportunities outside the BRICS grouping.

He also highlighted the significance of digital trade and transparent business rules, urging the use of electronic trade documents, electronic trade invoices, electronic bills of lading and e-customs declaration in BRICS countries in increasing their adoption.

Women entrepreneurs and MSMEs would be able to contribute significantly to the trade among BRICS countries through opportunities in services, digital trade and local products, Piyush said. He also spoke about the ‘One District – One Product' initiative as a forum to promote unique regional products and services in the world market.

Global trade uncertainties yet India's merchandise exports have increased by over 15 per cent in the quarter from April to August and the economy has seen 7.8 per cent growth in the quarter from April to June, said Piyush. Women-led development will continue to play a central role in India's vision of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047," he added.