Women Entrepreneurs are Key to Economic Development: Naidu

State Governments are increasingly encouraging entrepreneurship among women and one of the recent states to acknowledge that is Andhra Pradesh. The Chandrababu Naidu government is pushing women into starting-up majorly as it feels that women entrepreneurs are key to economic development, said AP CM recently.

Naidu spoke at an event while inaugurating a three-day international conference on "Innovation, incubation and industrialisation" organised by the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India in Vishakhapatnam.

"Women entrepreneurs are a key to economic development. It is everyone's responsibility to encourage women for their economic development," he said, TNIE reported.

Referring to Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Naidu said that he started the initiative to motivate women leaders in the state two decades ago.

Women are doing extremely well in the field of information technology, where their productivity is more than that of their male counterparts.

Apart from his current term, Naidu was also leading the state between 1994 and 2004.

“There were 90 lakh women members in these SHGs who are working with confidence and determination to improve the financial condition of their families. Women are doing extremely well in the field of information technology, where their productivity is more than that of their male counterparts,” said Naidu.

He further spoke that Andhra Pradesh stands on top in terms of accessibility of doing business. Apart from this, he said that the government endeavours to clear industrial proposals within 21 days.

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Now the state govt. has decided to build industrial hubs in each one of the 175 Assembly segments in the state with a view to encourage entrepreneurship. The government has already sanctioned five acres of land for setting up an industrial park for women entrepreneurs in Visakhapatnam.

He noted that the state has about eight ports and the government has decided to develop six more ports and two new airports.

For Andhra Pradesh, industrial growth is key and it has various facilitating aspects to it like a long coastline, good rail, road and air connectivity.

Several state governments are progressing towards having a gender-neutral entrepreneurial ecosystem. Focus on women with women-centric initiatives have come into place, making it easier for women to transition into entrepreneurs.