The Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (UPSRLM) has partnered with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow to support and incubate women-led rural startups and enterprises across the state.
As part of the initiative, around 150 rural women-run enterprises will receive structured incubation and business development support from IIM Lucknow over an 18-month period.
Top-performing enterprises will also be eligible for grants and interest-free loans, helping women entrepreneurs expand their businesses and build sustainable livelihoods.
Led by the IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre (IIML-EIC), the program supports the objectives of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme, which promotes self-employment and livelihood opportunities for rural women in Uttar Pradesh.
Key Highlights:
- IIM Lucknow will support 150 rural women-led enterprises in Uttar Pradesh
- Top-performing enterprises will receive grants and interest-free loans
- Government procurement from women entrepreneurs in UP rose 44% to ₹4,755 crore
This IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre will offer strategic counseling, mentoring, funding support and resources to young entrepreneurs to commercialize and scale up their products and businesses.
The plan will help to enhance women entrepreneurship and drive the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said.
He further added that the rural women entrepreneurs who will be participating will get access to IIM Lucknow's expertise, corporate practices and better market knowledge.
“This initiative is a convergence of good governance and social justice, and it can serve as a model for other states as well,” Deputy CM added.
The program has been approved by the Union Ministry of Rural Development under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
It is hoped that the partnership will assist rural women entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh to grow their business and become nationally known. The UPSRLM Director Arun Kumar has urged the women self-help groups (SHGs) to apply in the online process and the selected groups would be developed as model businesses at the district level.
The project will provide women entrepreneurs with an opportunity to become financially independent through institutional support, management training and market access.
More than 50 per cent of startups in Uttar Pradesh are started by women founders and co-founders. Further, the government procurement from women entrepreneurs in the state grew by 44 per cent to ₹4,755 crore in FY 2025-26 from ₹3,310 crore in the previous financial year.
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