The first-of-its-kind initiative was implemented in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal where 450 women-led enterprises were selected. The initiative was aimed at helping such enterprises, with a turnover of Rs 12 lakh and above, to increase their revenue and also generate employment opportunities in rural areas. In each state, 150 enterprises were selected, of which 132 were given soft loans (i.e. loans with no interest or an interest below that of market rate), and 18 were given grants to scale up their businesses.
For this, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under the rural development ministry roped in Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), a non-profit company under the aegis of IIM Calcutta to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. The non-profit organisation was tasked with the selection of eligible enterprises, providing technical assistance and hand-holding them to prepare their business plans and scale up.