Vijayawada: Aiming to empower women and boost self-employment in urban areas, the municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) department launched an ambitious plan to turn 30,000 women into entrepreneurs across the state.
The announcement came during a state-level workshop on the women’s business development action plan held at Vijayawada-Amaravati convention center, under the leadership of MAUD minister Ponguru Narayana.
The Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) will lead the initiative by upskilling 10,000 existing women entrepreneurs and training 20,000 new ones. Quarterly targets were set for the 2025–26 fiscal year, aiming to support women’s self-reliance and economic participation. Narayana also launched several digital initiatives, including the official MEPMA website for SHG women, the ‘Mahila Kashaam’ and ‘Nivasam’ mobile apps, the MEPMA loan charge creation mechanism (MLCC), and the HRMS dashboard for MEPMA staff. These tools are designed to streamline services, increase access to finance, and improve outreach to urban poor families. In a significant move, MEPMA signed a ,memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the labour department to link unorganised workers with the e-Shram scheme, ensuring better financial and social security. The workshop also saw the disbursement of 143.5 crore in bank-linked loans and 2.2 crore under PM SVANidhi to SC beneficiaries. Awards were presented to top-performing SC entrepreneurs.
MEPMA’s targets include loan disbursement of 8,000 crore to 80,000 SHGs, onboarding 20,000 SHG products on e-commerce platforms, and benefiting one lakh individuals.
The announcement came during a state-level workshop on the women’s business development action plan held at Vijayawada-Amaravati convention center, under the leadership of MAUD minister Ponguru Narayana.
The Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) will lead the initiative by upskilling 10,000 existing women entrepreneurs and training 20,000 new ones. Quarterly targets were set for the 2025–26 fiscal year, aiming to support women’s self-reliance and economic participation. Narayana also launched several digital initiatives, including the official MEPMA website for SHG women, the ‘Mahila Kashaam’ and ‘Nivasam’ mobile apps, the MEPMA loan charge creation mechanism (MLCC), and the HRMS dashboard for MEPMA staff. These tools are designed to streamline services, increase access to finance, and improve outreach to urban poor families. In a significant move, MEPMA signed a ,memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the labour department to link unorganised workers with the e-Shram scheme, ensuring better financial and social security. The workshop also saw the disbursement of 143.5 crore in bank-linked loans and 2.2 crore under PM SVANidhi to SC beneficiaries. Awards were presented to top-performing SC entrepreneurs.
MEPMA’s targets include loan disbursement of 8,000 crore to 80,000 SHGs, onboarding 20,000 SHG products on e-commerce platforms, and benefiting one lakh individuals.
