Dutch NGO, EXIM Bank on job drive

A Dutch NGO will collaborate with the Export-Import Bank of India to create one million jobs for rural India's women by 2018, an official said here Friday.

EXIM Bank signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Women on Wings, a non-profit organisation from Austerlitz, the Netherlands, here in the presence of visiting Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumne.

Ploumne said investing in a woman implied investing in the whole family and the MoC was a significant milestone since sharing knowledge and skills was as important as finance.

EXIM Bank executive director David Rasquinha said under the MoC, EXIM Bank and Women on Wings will identify areas and means of cooperation through which Indian grassroots and social enterprises could be supported to enable them reach international markets.

Both Women on Wings and EXIM Bank will share their knowledge and connect each other to promising social enterprises for further support, including financial and advisory, added Women on Wings Managing Co-Founder Maria Van der Heijden.

Rasquinha highlighted the EXIM Bank's efforts towards promotion of exports of products from rural grassroots business enterprises by providing them with an array of services, including those related to financial support, capacity building and export marketing.

The objective was to augment sustainable employment opportunities and exports from rural India for which EXIM Bank supports various grassroots organisations in different parts of the country.