Ministry of Rural Development, Meesho sign MoU to onboard rural women as online sellers
Feb 16, 2023
New Delhi [India], February 16 : The Ministry of Rural Development and Meesho signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday to drive digital inclusion of all women registered under State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and enable them to sell online, according to a statement.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh.
The partnership will give impetus to Meesho's ongoing efforts to onboard rural women entrepreneurs in various states and enable them to launch and grow their businesses online, the statement added.
Over the last few months, Meesho has tied up with several government-run self-help groups (SHGs), such as Sanjeevini - Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Mission and UMEED - Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission.
Giriraj Singh, Ministry of Rural Development, said, "Uplifting rural women across India by unlocking livelihood opportunities for them has been our key objective. Our constant endeavour has been to support the growth and development of rural communities and the collaboration with Meesho will further take our efforts forward. Women from these self-help groups will be able to leverage the power of technology in making their products visible and accessible to a wider customer base, thereby increasing their earning potential."
"This will give a big boost to the work of marketing. 2.35 crore self-help groups were there till 2014. By 2024, we have set a target of 10 crore houses. Today it has become more than 9 crores, and 2.08 NPAs remain. This is happening under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Union Minister added.
According to the statement, Meesho's continued commitment towards creating a level playing field for the smallest of sellers and its industry-first initiatives like zero commission will encourage rural women to embrace internet commerce and allow them to access a wider market.
Aligned with Meesho's vision to enable 100 million small businesses to succeed online, the move will allow them to become self-employed entrepreneurs and fulfil their aspirations of achieving financial independence.
