Rural Udyamita Conference 2025 Charts Roadmap for Sustainable Women-Led Enterprises in Assam & West Bengal
The Rural Udyamita Conference 2025 convened leaders from government, development agencies, corporates, financial institutions and rural women entrepreneurs to chart a transformative agenda for building an inclusive and sustainable rural entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northeast India.
Held on December 12, 2025, at the NEDFi premises in Guwahati, the conference brought sharp focus to the structural reforms, institutional partnerships and market-linked strategies required to advance Rural Women Entrepreneurship (RWE) as a core driver of regional development.
The event was organised and hosted by the Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD), Digital Empowerment Foundation, North East Development Foundation and Unifiers Social Ventures.
It was co-organised by the Udyamini RWEP Collaborative, comprising The Goat Trust, Transform Trade, Grameen Sahara, SwitchOn Foundation and the Digital Empowerment Foundation. UNDP served as the Institutional Partner, while Grassroots Tea Corporation and Vrutti supported the initiative as Technical Partners.
The conference positioned itself as a high-impact, multi-stakeholder platform that collectively examined policy, finance, digital inclusion, market integration and skill-building pathways required for rural women to transition from livelihood earners to sustainable entrepreneurs.
The proceedings opened with a dynamic panel discussion on strengthening RWE as a cornerstone of resilient rural economies and essential Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Moderated by Dr. Sriparna B. Baruah, Adviser, NEHHDC, the session convened senior representatives from UNDP, DAY-NRLM, DABUR India, NABARD, UN Women and ASRLM. Setting the tone, Dr. Baruah underscored that sustainable development must be anchored in inclusive growth, ecosystem-building and gender-responsive economic frameworks. She emphasised that rural women entrepreneurs in states such as Assam and West Bengal require systematic support in credit, clean energy, digital access, skills and market linkages.
Speaking on behalf of UNDP, Regional Head for the Northeast John Borgoyary identified rural women’s entrepreneurship as both a development and social protection pathway directly aligned with multiple SDGs. He highlighted three priorities for UNDP’s agenda: integrating climate-resilient enterprise models, expanding digital inclusion and strengthening value-chain-based entrepreneurship.
Borgoyary discussed the “Empower Her Journey” initiative with NEDFi, which has already trained 800 rural women in digital literacy. He also called attention to low levels of digital payments in the Northeast, an area UNDP is assessing at the request of the Department of Financial Services.
He stressed that scalable impact will require deeper institutional partnerships, stronger producer collectives and targeted policy reform.
DAY-NRLM Director Shri Raman Wadhwa shared insights from the mission’s intensive engagement in the Northeast. He noted that while terrain, language and remoteness were once seen as barriers, the region itself has produced livelihood and enterprise models that have become national benchmarks.
Wadhwa emphasised the mission’s shift from savings-led mobilisation to structured enterprise development, market integration and value addition. Citing examples including champion didi Sunanda Mukherjee and Assam’s Lakhpati Didi model, he noted that women in the region are increasingly equipped to scale sustainably.
He outlined NRLM’s priorities for 2030: streamlined credit pipelines, enterprise incubation, convergence across departments, stronger market-linked value chains and digital platforms that reduce transaction costs.
Representing DABUR India, Byas Anand, Head – Corporate Communications and CSR, presented key learnings from the company’s work with rural entrepreneurs across India. He identified four priorities for mainstreaming women-led enterprises by 2030: quality certification support, scalable market access, digital onboarding and long-term capacity-building beyond CSR cycles.
Stressing that sustainable impact requires partnership rather than charity, Anand highlighted initiatives in Sonitpur, including a boxing academy, livelihood training for women and farm-to-factory linkages for medicinal crops.
He emphasised that market linkage and shared responsibility—whether in honeybee training or sapling distribution—are essential to sustaining any rural enterprise model.
In his intervention, Indrajit Das, State Project Manager – Enterprise Promotion, ASRLM, highlighted Assam’s transition from livelihood earning to livelihood entrepreneurship. He outlined priorities for strengthening SHG-based enterprises, district enterprise cells, digital skilling and cluster-level value chain development.
The second session, the Rural Udyamita Open Townhall on “Ease of Doing Business for RWEs,” provided a platform for micro-entrepreneurs to articulate challenges and opportunities related to market access, credit, skill gaps, digital tools and ecosystem support. Chaired by Prof. Abhijit Sharma of IIBM and former Director of IIE, the session included panelists from NEHHDC, UNDP, NERAMAC, GBSIPRD and rural entrepreneurs themselves.
NERAMAC emphasised product quality, testing, labelling and FSSAI compliance as non-negotiable requirements for market readiness. Prof. Sharma highlighted the need for entrepreneurs to understand margins across market layers and build consistent product quality, supported by appropriate technical assistance.
NEHHDC’s Chandamita Baruah shared that the organisation has trained more than 20,000 individuals in the last five years in jacquard weaving, handblock printing and related skills.
She also announced the inauguration of Northeast India’s largest Eri Silk Spinning Plant at Mushalpur, developed at a cost of ₹14.92 crore, with a capacity of producing 450 kilograms of Eri yarn daily—expected to benefit over 50,000 households.
The concluding session amplified the voices of Rural Women Entrepreneurs—Gitanjali Kalita, Masuma Khatun and Bhabhani Rabha—who presented their journeys, challenges and aspirations under the Udyamini RWEP programme.
The final policy dialogue, moderated by Ekta Jaju of SwitchOn Foundation, focused on enabling a just transition from livelihood to entrepreneurship through accessible finance, technology integration, market diversification and streamlined institutional frameworks.
The conference closed with a shared commitment to scale impactful enterprise models, strengthen policy ecosystems and accelerate the creation of a resilient, inclusive rural economy across the Northeast.