Empowering women-led micro enterprises is a social as well as an economic necessity, former Union minister Smriti Irani said on Monday.
Speaking at a session, 'Leadership Beyond Labels: Women, Power & Public Service', at the Rajasthan Digifest and TiE Global Summit 2026 here, Irani said women should continue to challenge their own limits and be willing to take risks, even at the height of success.
She spoke about her initiative SPARK, which aims to support one lakh women entrepreneurs across 300 cities through access to credit, formalisation and institutional support.
1 January 2026
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The second day of the 10th edition of the TiE Global Summit also saw the launch of a campaign aimed at strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as drivers of economic growth and employment.
According to TiE, the initiative seeks to generate 1 crore jobs and over $100 billion in economic value over the next five years by mobilising governments, industry bodies, capital providers and TiE chapters worldwide.
Key focus areas include regulatory simplification, access to capital, skill development, technology adoption, and cluster-led regional growth, a TiE office-bearer said.
In another session titled 'MSMEs as Growth Engines: The State's Role', officials from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh discussed the role of stable regulations, easier GST compliance, improved access to credit and technology-led, cluster-based development for MSMEs.
Following the session, memoranda of understanding were exchanged between the Andhra Pradesh government, TiE Hyderabad and TiE Visakhapatnam.
Earlier, a session on 'Building Cities of the Future: Innovation, Investment & Global Hubs' focused on global technology ecosystems.
The discussion highlighted Dubai Internet City's evolution into the region's largest technology ecosystem, and its growing role as a gateway for Indian startups and scale-ups, driven by digital infrastructure, enabling policies, AI-led innovation, talent attraction, and cross-border collaboration.
