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Merabiznet is the result of many years of work in women’s economic empowerment and allied sectors by several leading organisations – and has been designed to bridge the gender gap that exists in terms of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India.
Women-owned enterprises officially represent 20% of all enterprises in India with the real number being significantly less as the majority are not in fact run by women.
For women led MSMEs in non-metro cities in India, the challenge of lack of access to information and network, tailored go-to-markets products, expert guidance, technical support, stage appropriate funding, self-confidence and societal acceptance often make the task at hand insurmountable.
MeraBizNet aims to provide livelihood opportunities for a million women by 2030 through supporting, developing and incubating women led entrepreneurial initiatives with a special emphasis on Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas.
And for the first time, women from these smaller markets will have access to a series of services that will help them gain confidence, expertise and found and scale businesses.
Our vision is to grow the market share of female entrepreneurs in India – and through this contribute to not only increased financial independence but decreased social inequality across multiple pillars – elevating women’s status and power in Indian society.

Visionary & Implementing Partners

 

Empower Foundation

 
Empower Foundation was incepted in 2013. It is the not-for-profit arm of Empower Pragati and is registered under Section 25 of Indian Companies Act as well as being FCRA certified. Empower Foundation works with the vulnerable sections of society through well-strategized, impactful interventions in the areas of education, livelihood generation, dissemination of public information and advocacy. These projects focus on capacity building of the participants in order to make them self- dependent.
The Foundation started its operations from Delhi NCR and has steadily grown over the years, in both scope and geographical coverage. They now have a presence in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Through their projects with Castrol, Expedia, Asian Paints, and GIZ,  they have reached out to over 22,000 beneficiaries over the past six years.
The Foundation is also a founding member of DWSSC (Domestic Worker Sector Skill Council) a statutory body under the Ministry of Skill Development & NSDC working for enhancing skill and employment growth opportunities for Domestic Workers.
 

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

 
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From 2018 to 2022, GIZ implemented the Indo-German development cooperation project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)’ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India.
 
In the four years of implementation, Project Her&Now supported over 900 women entrepreneurs from 12 states of India through the following components
  • Ran incubation and acceleration support programmes for women entrepreneurs in Tier II & III cities in the NorthEastern Region, Maharasthra, Rajasthan, Telangana andUttar Pradesh. 
  • Facilitated the creation of women entrepreneur-led networks in the NorthEastern region, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. These four networks are WE Manipur, WEN Nagaland, AWARE (Rajasthan), and MeraBizNet (Uttar Pradesh).  
  • Designed WINcubate, a gender-sensitive entrepreneurship support training, in collaboration with Dhriiti- The Courage Within, which equipped incubators to adopt women-centric incubation practices. 18 Atal Innovation Mission incubators and 12 Government of Gujarat incubators completed this training.
  • Celebrated women entrepreneurs through film and media  by showcasing relatable role models through online and offline platforms. The project created multiple media products like the Founders podcast or the graphic novel “WE Mean Business - 20 Women Entrepreneurs, 20 Stories” to stir a positive mindset change around the role of women in the society and economy. The project also produced 4 award-winning short films which were screened in over 40 cities of India.

 

The power of partnership  

Through the combined experience, learnings and passion of these organisations, Merabiznet, owned by Gaia Women Empowerment Forum, a Section 8 company, has come to life with the ambition to radically simplify and accelerate the female entrepreneur’s journey and guide, support and cheer her on her path to professional success.

The Board and Advisors supporting this venture bring experience of business leadership, investment, policy formulation, process excellence and global development. The company is excited to reach, inspire and support thousands of women to set up and scale their business through their unique and innovative set up that is MeraBizNet

The Power of Community – Merabiznet Facebook Group

Join our growing community of women entrepreneurs who have been touched by our programs. Share your questions, celebrate your successes and present your business in the safe and supportive community of like-minded women.