Women entrepreneurship is considered as a key to economic growth due to its multiplier effects such as job creation, increase in labor force participation and uplifting families out of poverty and can contribute to achieving several SDGs, especially SDG 5.
With an aim to facilitate and support women entrepreneurs, UNESCAP under the project “E-Commerce Capacity Building for Women-led MSMEs in South Asia” undertook a multifaceted approach towards empowering women entrepreneurs in South Asia in becoming part of new local, regional and international supply chains through the use of e-commerce and digital marketing tools. The project was initiated with national inception workshops at all the beneficiary countries including in Thimphu, Bhutan on 4-5 February 2020 and was followed with a series of regional trainings on e-commerce and digital marketing for women entrepreneurs alongside the facilitation of networking opportunities and real time support through help desk created for this purpose.
The significance of e-commerce as a medium to conduct business has increased multi-fold during the COVID-19 pandemic and e-commerce has become an important tool for women-led MSMEs to promote and expand their business. Keeping this in view, this training is being organized to enhance the knowledge and capacity of women entrepreneurs to use e-commerce platforms to expand their business exports and gain access to supply chains. Additionally, this training seeks to establish a network amongst the women entrepreneurs by providing an opportunity to showcase their products, and services and share their entrepreneurial journey with an aim to inspire and motivate fellow women entrepreneurs.
