Catalysing Transformative Impact on 10,000 Women-Owned Businesses in the e-Commerce Landscape

India is home to 63 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with around 20 percent being women-owned (NITI Aayog). Women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment have surged in recent years, and women-led e-commerce businesses have the potential to boost both global and national economies signifi cantly. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), with over 900 million internet users, India is the world’s secondlargest internet market, witnessing 131.16 lakh crore UPI transactions in FY 2023-24. According to Invest India, the e-commerce industry in India is growing rapidly, with nearly 100 percent of pin codes experiencing adoption and more than 60 percent of transactions and orders coming from tier-two cities and smaller towns. The exponential growth of e-commerce presents an opportunity to close gender gaps by opening more markets to women-owned businesses. Yet, advances in disruptive technologies do not always translate into advances in gender equality, and to date, there are limited examples that have addressed women’s participation or success on e-commerce platforms. Consequently, numerous interventions have emerged to infl uence, enhance, and revamp various aspects of women-owned businesses and the ecosystem in which they operate, unlocking the levers of economic empowerment through e-commerce.