In the early 1980s, women entrepreneurs in India faced social prejudice, limited financial support, and few opportunities to start businesses. At a time when society expected women to remain within traditional roles rather than build enterprises, Dr. Hina Shah believed they could become business owners, decision-makers, and leaders of the nation.

Determined to create opportunities for women who had long been overlooked, she laid the foundation for what would become the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (ICECD).

For nearly four decades, ICECD has worked with a simple belief: when women become entrepreneurs, they don’t just transform their own lives—they strengthen families, communities, and economies.

The First Spark: How One Story Ignited a Movement of Women’s Development

Long before women’s entrepreneurship became part of national and global development discussions, Dr. Hina Shah had already recognised the barriers women faced through her own experiences.

Reflecting on those years, she says:

“Starting a business was like swimming against the current in the 1980s. Women were treated as passive acceptors, not active decision-makers. Nobody supported me—neither emotionally nor financially—but I was ready to tread my own path, no matter what.”

Rather than accepting these limitations, she decided to create opportunities for other women.

In 1982, she launched India’s first Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for women. The first batch included 25 women, of whom 16 went on to establish businesses in industries considered unconventional for women at the time. They manufactured electronic components, hardware parts, ohm meters, stapler pins, tube-light chokes, and several other industrial products.

Their success challenged long-held beliefs about women’s role in business. Financial institutions and policymakers recognised these women as ‘valuable economic contributors’, leading to new schemes and support systems for women entrepreneurs.

More importantly, it proved a simple but powerful truth:

Women were never lacking entrepreneurial ability. They simply lacked access to opportunities, training, and support.

ICECD’s Entrepreneurship Development initiative to Global Reach-out

The success of the first Entrepreneurship Development Programme proved that the model worked. In 1986, Dr. Hina Shah established the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (ICECD) to help women build sustainable enterprises through entrepreneurship.

It became quite clear that training alone was not enough. Women also needed access to finance, mentorship, market linkages, and continued support. This understanding shaped ICECD’s holistic approach to entrepreneurship development.

Encouraged by its early success, ICECD expanded the model beyond Gujarat. Training materials were simplified, practical manuals were developed, and programmes were adapted to local languages and community needs, making the model easy to replicate.

Over time, more than 1,000 experts from around the world visited India to study ICECD’s approach. The model was later adapted across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, helping women build sustainable livelihoods while advancing leadership, gender equality, and community development.

Throughout this journey, one belief remained constant:

“Economic development is the source of women’s empowerment.”

Support Partners in Action at ICECD

ICECD’s impact has been strengthened through partnerships with governments, financial institutions, international development agencies, and corporations.

Its partners include organisations such as the United Nations, ILO, UNICEF, UN Women, UN-ESCAP, World Bank, USAID, Commonwealth Secretariat, SBI, NABARD, IDBI, Amazon, TATA Motors, Bajaj, Castrol India, and many others.

These collaborations have strengthened entrepreneurship ecosystems, expanded access to finance and markets, and helped replicate successful models across regions.

UN-ESCAP recognised ICECD as a Centre of Excellence, while Dr. Hina Shah has received several national and international honours for her contribution to women’s entrepreneurship.

The Women Entrepreneurship Development Blueprint: A Holistic Model

ICECD believes that successful entrepreneurship requires more than business training. Women also need access to finance, markets, mentorship, and continuous support.

It’s Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) programme follows a holistic approach that guides participants from identifying business opportunities to building sustainable enterprises.

The programme supports women at every stage of entrepreneurship—from identifying business opportunities and developing business skills to accessing finance, markets, mentorship, and post-training support.

Beyond entrepreneurship, ICECD also promotes digital literacy, financial inclusion, environmental awareness, leadership, health, and human rights. Those seeking advanced knowledge can pursue specialised certification and postgraduate diploma programmes in Entrepreneurship, Rural Development, Sustainable Development, and NGO Management.

To multiply its impact, ICECD also conducts Training-of-Trainers (ToT) programmes for colleges, universities, Panchayats, corporates, and development organisations, enabling institutions to build entrepreneurship ecosystems within their own communities.

Impacting Rural, Urban, Widows & Tribal Women

ICECD’s impact reaches women across rural and urban communities, tribal regions, women with disabilities, and those rebuilding their lives as widows. Regardless of their background, the goal remains the same—to help women become economically independent through entrepreneurship.

The impact goes far beyond income. Women gain the confidence to make independent decisions, educate their children, improve their family’s quality of life, and contribute more actively to their communities.

As their enterprises grow, many create employment for others—often for women from the same communities—strengthening local economies. Women-led MSMEs supported by ICECD have reported household income increases of 30–50% within two years, creating lasting social and economic impact.

ICECD’s Achievements

Over the past four decades, ICECD has helped create lasting economic and social change through entrepreneurship.

• 2 million women trained directly in entrepreneurship.
• 5 million women reached through capacity-building partnerships.
• Presence across 28 Indian states and 60 countries.
• ₹43 billion leveraged into women-led MSMEs in India and ₹11 billion internationally.
• 1,350 national and 950 international organisations trained through Training-of-Trainers (ToT) programmes.
• 75% enterprise start-up success rate.
• 90% economic rehabilitation for over 23,500 rural widows.
• Improved quality of life for 1 million+ women and their families across 200+ villages.
• Employment generated for over 5 million people.
• More than 5,500 trainers equipped to promote entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneurship introduced into schools, ITIs, engineering, and management institutions.
• More than 10,000 youth from urban slums, tribal, and rural communities empowered.
• Economic and social rehabilitation programmes implemented in 36 earthquake-affected villages and tsunami-affected regions of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.

Behind every number is a story—a woman who gained financial independence, a family whose future became more secure, a young person who found new opportunities, or a community strengthened through enterprise.

ICECD – Recognition Over the Years

ICECD’s work and Dr. Hina Shah’s leadership have been recognised nationally and internationally for their contribution to entrepreneurship development and women’s economic empowerment.

Some of the major recognitions include:

• Stree Shakti Puruskar
• UN-ESCAP – Centre of Excellence
• NABARD Award – SHG Bank Linkage Programme
• Entrepreneurship Promoter of the Year – Nigeria
• Gujarat Women Development Award
• Bharat Jyoti Award
• Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award
• PMI India Best Project for Community Development
• NGO Leadership Award
• NITI Aayog – Women Transforming India Award

Empowering Through Enterprise Creation

India has made significant progress, yet women entrepreneurs still account for only 13% of all MSMEs. Millions of women continue to face barriers that limit their ability to start and grow businesses.

Dr. Hina Shah has experienced these challenges herself.

“I have witnessed firsthand the disparities between genders and experienced the biases that exist in our society. When I became an entrepreneur, everything changed—the way people saw me, the way I saw myself—because I was finally making my own decisions.”

That experience became the foundation of ICECD’s mission.

For over four decades, the organisation has worked to remove the barriers that prevent women from becoming entrepreneurs—whether they relate to skills, finance, markets, networks, or awareness.

As Dr. Hina Shah often says,

“If I can, any woman can.”

That belief continues to inspire ICECD’s mission: creating opportunities for women to become entrepreneurs, leaders, and contributors to stronger families, communities, and economies.

Invitation to Join Our Journey

For over four decades, ICECD has demonstrated that entrepreneurship can change lives, strengthen communities, and drive inclusive development.

There is still much more to achieve.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a development organisation, a CSR partner, an educator, or a policymaker, you can be part of this mission.

• Empower an entrepreneur by enrolling or referring women to ICECD’s programmes.
• Partner with ICECD to design and implement entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Share your expertise through mentoring, training, or volunteering.
• Support future entrepreneurs through scholarships, microfinance, and capacity-building initiatives.

Together, we can create more opportunities for women and build stronger communities through entrepreneurship.