An International Trade Centre of women entrepreneurs will be set up in the city. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will lay the foundation during the inaugural of International Conference of Women Entrepreneurs to be held from January 17 to 19.
Announcing details at a press conference along with president of Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India K. Rama Devi and District Collector Pravin Kumar, HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said a 50-acre site was allotted to the trade centre at Gidijala.
Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Industry and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, MSME Minister Giriraj Singh and SAARC Secretary General Amjad Hussain B Sial are among the other important personalities participating.
The conference will be held in partnership with the South Asian Women Development Forum and under the aegis of the State government. Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the organisation was already involved in developing industrial parks in Krishna, Anantapur and Nellore districts and in Rangareddy district of Telangana.
Ms. Ramadevi said the DPR envisaged setting up of a minimum of 200 units, each with a cost of ₹16 crore. Besides footing the cost of the land, ALEI will take up development of infrastructure and intends to complete it in two years. Common facilities would be developed in 20,000 sft. Visakhapatnam was chosen with it being a port city that would help tap the export potential, Ms. Ramadevi said. She thanked the Chief Minister for his support and suggestion to set up incubation centre to help equip enterprising entrepreneurs, particularly from rural areas, with skill and technological support.
It is entitled to 40% subsidy for infrastructure from the Ministry of MSME besides other incentives offered to entrepreneurs in general and women in particular.
Potential of Women entrepreneurs remained largely untapped partly because of lack of marketing opportunities, she said. Recently, 10,000 shirts were supplied to the Aditya Birla Group in the first instalment and with the group was ready to give more orders.
Women entrepreneurs would look to exploit opportunities in food processing and garment-making industries. ALEI would create infrastructure for small units in 500 square yards each employing up to 20 workers.
Experts to participate
In the three-day conference successful software and biotechnology entrepreneurs and experts from incubation centres in Tirupati, T-Hub and IIT, Madras, will participate.
Ratnakar Adhikari from International Trade Centre, Geneva, Clement Chauvet from UNDP, T.T. Hang from European Investment Fund, are among the experts addressing the conference. Seventy delegates from SAARC countries will attend.
