HCL Foundation and Access Development Services inaugurate common facility center-cum-food processing unit in Noida on International Women’s Day
• HCL Foundation (HCLF), the CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of HCL Technologies, in partnership with Access Development Services (ADS), a national livelihoods support organization, inaugurated a common facility center-cum-food processing unit at Barola village in Noida to support upcoming women micro-entrepreneurs.
• On International Women’s Day, the facility was inaugurated by Ms. Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation, Ms. Pompi Das, Assistant Commissioner District Industries Centre, Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Mr. Sachin Jain, Assistant Commissioner District Industries Centre, Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Mr. Vipin Sharma, CEO, Access Development Service in the presence of the community women of Barola village.
• The Centre provides training to women to make high-quality, marketable, and healthy roasted millet products and handmade cookies. It also acts as a technical support hub to help women entrepreneurs build a sustainable food enterprise.
• The Noida CFC (common facility center) is the nerve center for four locations where HCLF and ADS work. The locations connected to the Noida center include Gurgaon, Aligarh, and Khurja. Over 400 artisans and women, micro-entrepreneurs have benefitted from this project so far.
• The products will also be made available on HCL Foundation’s My ‘My E-Haat’ portal after required licensing. ‘My E-Haat’ is a special initiative by HCL Foundation which aims to connect artisans directly with customers across the country by showcasing their products on an online marketplace portal. This is achieved by facilitating product development, enhancing entrepreneurial skills among communities, and finally establishing sustainable market linkages.
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Addressing the women entrepreneurs at the event, Ms. Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation said, “Supporting women entrepreneurship is more than just financial support. We realize that proper support is about creating an environment where women can be healthy, make informed decisions about their family size and well-being, and are educated and skilled to contribute to the family’s income and feel a sense of independence to exercise and realize their rights. The idea is to make women active and enabling agents who can break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families. The Noida CFC is only one step towards this vision of bringing a long-lasting impact.”
