Odisha, August 10, 2017: Odisha will partner with Facebook to train women entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) to promote entrepreneurship and digital literacy, an official said on Tuesday.

Facebook has agreed to partner with the state government to train altogether 25,000 Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and SHG entrepreneurs in by August 2018.

The government has decided to organize hands-on workshops for Micro, Small and Medium women Entrepreneurs and women SHGs on "Digital Marketing Skills" in collaboration with Facebook.

These workshops will be held at various locations including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Berhampur, Angul, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Rayagada, Jeypore, Puri and Keonjhar.

MSME Secretary L.N. Gupta said the primary objective of these workshops is to help skill and train MSME entrepreneurs, SHGs and artisans of Odisha to go digital and grow their business by leveraging social media.

The Facebook team would teach them the digital skills for the promotion of their respective products/services so as to increase reach to larger and intended customer base, he added.

Gupta stated the workshops will not only digitally empower the MSME entrepreneurs but would also offer a platform for interaction between SHGs and the existing MSME entrepreneurs.

Mission Shakti Director Sujata R. Karthikeyan said the workshops would be an important milestone in digital inclusion of the MSMEs and SHG members.

The first such hands-on workshop for MSME women entrepreneurs and women SHGs will be held on the 10th August at Bhubaneswar. The workshop is likely to be attended by more than 800 women entrepreneurs.

Rajat Arora, Policy Programs Manager, Facebook, India & South Asia said that new world skills will enable the Odisha's entrepreneurs to accelerate their business through online exposure and integration with global markets.

"Our partnership with the Government of Odisha and the launch of #SheMeansBusiness in Odisha are steady steps towards the next phase of economic growth in the state," he added. (IANS)