In Jammu and Kashmir, the involvement of 4 lakh women in over 48,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (UMEED) has transfigured women entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.

The J&K government, Manoj Sinha, promised to provide women entrepreneurs from SHGs with access to funding, quality mentorship for re-skilling and new-skilling, and guidance in reaching new markets.

As per the official statements the government has taken a comprehensive approach to develop a women entrepreneur ecosystem to interlink, collaborate, and put some money for scaling up business purposes and building a strong women workforce. The structures are being strengthened for women and youth to build empowered individuals in J&K. They have available resources to craft smarter enterprises and mold the community around them in extraordinary ways.

Women are becoming more socially and economically independent with companies like Saath, Umeed, Mumkin, Hausla, and Tejaswini. JKRLM programs are also revolving around the lives of rural women on the continent.

One of the flagship programs ‘SAATH’ was introduced by the Lieutenant Governor on September 1, 2021, with the motive to enable rural women to become self-dependent.

JKRLM had initiated a mentoring program under the “SAATH program” for choosing SHG members.

100 women entrepreneurs have been chosen among the 5000 SHG members who are being guided in creating higher-level firms through one-on-one mentorship to improve their competitiveness.

JKRLM founded the UMEED women's Haat, to create a market link for about 5 lakh rural SHG members to sell their products and engage directly with consumers and purchasers.

In the Rural Livelihoods Mission, J&K will convert existing firms into sustainable, high-productivity operations through skilling, mentorship, and market linkages.

'We are seeing a steady rise in the number of women entrepreneurs in J&K, and young entrepreneurs are reshaping society in many ways and ensuring economic security and prosperity for others,' added the Lieutenant Governor.