Tide, WE Hub launch programme to help women MSMEs access state, central schemes

The Indian unit of Tide, an SME-focused business financial platform in the UK, and WE Hub, Telangana’s state-led incubator for women entrepreneurs, have joined forces to launch the ‘Sarthika’ programme.
This initiative is designed to bridge the information and delivery gaps in state and central government schemes for women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India.

The primary goal is to enhance the ease of doing business for women entrepreneurs across India by improving their access to information and uptake of public schemes and initiatives.

The Sarthika web portal (https://www.tide.co/en-in/wehub-tide/) will work at the grassroots level and help navigate through the application process, eligibility criteria, and other important aspects of the schemes. After the completion of full KYC process, Tide India and WE Hub will work with relevant government departments to quicken operationalisation of the schemes.

The programme’s first phase consists of three schemes

• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): Focuses on credit subsidy for self-employment.
• Raw Material Assistance Scheme: Offers access to higher quality raw materials.
• Barcode Registration Subsidy: Enables businesses to conform to global standards of trade and commerce.

The government has rolled out several measures to boost growth and opportunities for women in business. However, a lack of information about eligibility and availability of schemes, poor allocation of resources, and complex processes have led to weak demand from those who these schemes could best serve.

WE Hub CEO Deepthi Ravula said, “Enabling access and opportunity for women to partake in the economic workforce of the nation is of pivotal importance to the growth of the nation. While there have been efforts to ease this process, awareness and handholding support is often amiss. In our collaboration with Tide, we are looking at addressing this problem statement and are positive that this will lead to a monumental change!”

This move also elevates Tide’s India Chapter of ‘Women in Business’ and the company’s plan to work as an incubator to digitally transform women-led SMEs beyond Tier 2 and 3 regions of India.

Earlier this year, Tide conducted a mentorship programme for women entrepreneurs to decode the Union Budget 2023 and help them understand how new government policies, tax laws, and funding opportunities may affect their businesses.