South Asia is a rapidly growing subregion accounting for almost a quarter of the world population. An important channel for realizing inclusive and sustainable regional development are the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) within South Asia, which serve as the backbone of all sectors in the economy.
The presence of women in MSME sectors is relatively high. The subregion, however, faces challenges relating to access to technology, finance, ICT knowledge, since many women entrepreneurs in subregion are not able to expand their businesses and become part of a wider regional and global supply chains mostly due to lack of knowledge and limited scale of their businesses especially from MSME. E-commerce platform for South Asian women entrepreneurs can be a powerful tool for empowering them socially and economically since it addresses the outmoded barriers of geographic isolation and limited access to information and financing.
