Jammu Tawi, Nov 17: The Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (Umeed) and
Meesho, India's fastest-growing internet commerce company signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to support the growth of 1,800 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by providing
them an online platform to launch and grow their business and empower the rural women
entrepreneurs.
A government spokesman said that the MoU was signed and exchanged in the presence of
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, here at Raj Bhavan.
Congratulating women entrepreneurs of the Self-Help Groups and Meesho officials on the
occasion, the LG said that the partnership will help in building lives and livelihood for rural
communities and provide greater access to economic activities, financial independence to rural
women entrepreneurs.
"The partnership of Rural Livelihoods Mission and e-commerce giant Meesho is a significant
step in making niche products of Jammu and Kashmir available to the wider customer base,
providing SHGs global market to grow their business, and making them Aatma-Nirbhar," he
said.
From shawls and carpets to phool kari, Jammu & Kashmir's arts and crafts have earned global
recognition for their uniqueness. Going online with Meesho will allow these women to sell such
products to all corners of India and benefit from higher visibility and additional income. Digital
inclusion will help them become self-employed entrepreneurs and fulfill their aspirations of
achieving financial independence.
JKRLM Umeed and Meesho have already identified products created by these SHGs that can be
sold on the online platform, such as Chabhari and Bina grass items, papier-mâché, essential oils,
woolens and crewel embroidered products, made across J&K. JKRLM Umeed on its part will
provide all necessary support to boost the digitization of these women entrepreneurs through
access to the internet and financial services, it was informed.
Singa said the partnership will also provide an opportunity to both JKRLM & Meesho to scale up
rural enterprises from grass root to large scale and bring the change in rural women's lives.
The LG also highlighted the efforts of the government for promoting women entrepreneurship by
building strong grassroots institutions that can foster enduring transformation.
"For the last two years, we have been working towards re-imagining the rural areas of Jammu
and Kashmir and providing a strong market linkage and e-commerce platforms to exploit the
potential of artisans. About 5.5 lakh women are associated with more than 64,000 SHGs and
almost every panchayat has two women entrepreneurs today, " he said.
"J&K has abundant talent in Handicraft, and through this cooperation, we will be able to
empower a large number of women which in turn will empower the community as well as this
Union Territory," he added.
Sanjeev Barnwal, co-founder and CTO, Meesho, said, “We are privileged to work with Umeed-
JKRLM and the J&K Government to further our mission of democratizing e-commerce. Women
entrepreneurs are a key growth engine of India's economy and Meesho has empowered lakhs of
them to succeed in the online world.".
"Through this partnership, we hope to amplify our efforts in that direction and enable these Self-
Help groups from J&K realize their full potential. We will provide them with all the tools and
guidance they need to grow their business online with Meesho, " he said.
