Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in India

A recent report by Goldman Sachs revealed that its 10,000 Women initiative for women entrepreneurs in India has created approximately 12,000 new jobs and added Rs 28 billion in revenue to the Indian economy within 18 months of graduation. The initiative, launched in 2008, provides business and management education to women entrepreneurs to help scale their businesses and drive wider economic growth.

The report, Breaking Barriers: Unlocking the Potential of Women Entrepreneurs, was based on a study of over 2,400 women entrepreneurs who participated in the initiative across the country. The study found that the participants had doubled their existing workforce, quadrupled their revenue, and increased their productivity by five times on average within 18 months of graduating from the program.

However, the study also highlighted that over half of the women, entrepreneurs had concerns about access to finance and international markets. Sonjoy Chatterjee, CEO of Goldman Sachs in India, emphasized the need for more work to be done to unlock the true potential of Indian business and realize the vision to be a $5 trillion economy.

The report also revealed that women entrepreneurs are implementing what they learned from the program, including digital technology adoption to drive innovation and efficiency, championing ‘Make in India’ by exporting to international markets and tapping into a globally competitive talent pool for growth.

Over 38,000 women entrepreneurs in India have received more than 45,900 loans worth approximately $720 million through the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, a global partnership between Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women and the International Finance Corporation.

Staff Reporter