NEW DELHI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- To mark the International Women's Day on Thursday, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) joined hands with the country's ace policy think-tank "NITI Aayog" for the latter's women entrepreneurship platform (WEP) initiative.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog is a premier policy think tank of India, providing both directional and policy inputs for central and state governments.

NITI Aayog launched the WEP as a progressive follow-on to the recently concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which celebrated the theme of "Women First, Prosperity for All".

At a ceremony held Thursday in New Delhi, Anna Roy, an advisor at NITI Aayog said:"WEP is a collaborative, interactive and connected initiative to achieve a common goal, empowering women entrepreneurs in the country."

On the occasion, FICCI Deputy Secretary-General Nirankar Saxena stated that FICCI was fully committed to working with NITI Aayog towards strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem for women in particular.

"The women entrepreneurship ecosystem across the world has immense potential but is faced with financial and social barriers. Our aim is to provide a level playing field to women entrepreneurs," said Saxena.

As per the initiative, FICCI shall connect the WEP to women entrepreneurs, leaders, venture capitalists, academia, angel investors, etc. from across the globe. For this, FICCI will undertake five national and three international outreach and networking events annually.

Through a joint program, FICCI and NITI Aayog shall provide handholding, mentorship, capacity building, scaling up and networking support to 100 technology-led women enterprises over a period of five years.