VISAKHAPATNAM: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that a dedicated technology park would be established exclusively for women entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh, with free land and incentives to encourage women-led businesses. He also said the State government would facilitate the participation of five women entrepreneurs from Andhra Pradesh at the Davos Summit.
Addressing the ‘Women and Growth Summit-2026’, organised as part of the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam under the theme ‘The Women Who Will Shape the Next Economy: Leadership, Capital, Ambition’, the Chief Minister said women had the potential to achieve significant success when given equal opportunities.
Referring to the recent corporation elections, Naidu said that although women secured five positions, the government had provided opportunities to eight women to serve as mayors. He stressed the need for greater representation of women in decision-making and called upon all political parties to work towards implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Highlighting the role of women’s self-help groups in the State’s economy, he said Andhra Pradesh had 1.13 crore women members in SHGs, with a corpus fund of Rs 30,000 crore. The groups were generating a turnover of nearly Rs 1 lakh crore, while the loan repayment rate stood at 99.6 per cent. Through the Swayam Andhra brand, the government was creating market opportunities for products made by DWCRA women.
Stressing the importance of asset ownership, he said the government had recently distributed house-site pattas worth Rs 50,000 crore to 60,000 beneficiaries in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Mangalagiri. The CM highlighted women’s contribution to natural farming.
Former Union minister Smriti Irani, CII president-designate Suchitra Ella, representatives of the CII Alliance for Global Good, industrialists and women leaders attended.