Partnership between UNDP and DAY-NULM

• 24 Jun 2023

Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) have joined forces in a collaborative partnership aimed at empowering women in entrepreneurship.

Key Highlights of the Partnership

• Empowering Women in Entrepreneurship: The partnership aims to empower women by providing support for starting or expanding their own enterprises.It focuses on sectors such as the care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, food packaging, and more.
• Three-Year Project: The collaborative project has a duration of three years, with the possibility of extension beyond 2025.
• Initial Phase Coverage: The partnership's initial phase will cover eight cities, targeting specific urban areas to implement interventions and support women entrepreneurs effectively.
• Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: The partnership aims to create an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem that enables women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship. It seeks to address gender disparities in entrepreneurship and promote economic growth.
• National-Level Capacity Building: UNDP, with its experience in linking over 200,000 women to better employment opportunities, will provide national-level capacity building support to DAY-NULM.
• This support includes knowledge generation and management, compiling best practices related to urban poverty, and enhancing the implementation of national-level schemes.
• Innovative Solutions in the Care Economy: The partnership will collaborate on piloting innovative solutions, with a particular focus on the care economy domain.
• Leveraging the sectoral expertise of UNDP and DAY-NULM, the project aims to contribute to the development and growth of women-led enterprises.
• On-Ground Mobilization Activities: The partnership will engage in on-ground mobilization activities to identify areas of urban poverty and potential women entrepreneurs.
• It will facilitate access to Business Development Services, providing handholding support to help formalize businesses, establish bank linkages, and secure access to finance and markets.
• Community Business Mentors: UNDP will contribute by developing community business mentors called Biz-Sakhis in selected project locations.
• DAY-NULM's Outreach Efforts: DAY-NULM has already mobilized over 8.4 million urban poor women across India, forming more than 831,000 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in over 4,000 towns.
• The mission's grassroots initiatives have effectively facilitated economic empowerment and amplified the voices of marginalized sections of the urban population.