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Industrial Zone with 30% Women in Manufacturing — Fastest Growing UT Economy
“Where Industry Meets Ambition”
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu — a unified Union Territory since 2020 — is one of India's fastest-growing industrial economies despite its tiny size. Located between Gujarat and Maharashtra, it has attracted manufacturing industries including plastics, chemicals, textiles, and consumer goods. Women constitute 30% of the manufacturing workforce — higher than the national manufacturing average for women — working in production, quality control, and increasingly in supervisory and management roles in factories supplying national and export markets.
The fishing communities of Daman and Diu have traditionally included women as primary fish traders and processors. Women fishmongers manage the majority of retail fish trade in coastal markets, controlling the seafood supply chain from wholesale purchase to consumer sale. Women-led marine product processing enterprises — dried fish, fish pickle, and seafood products — supply mainland India and developing export opportunities to the Gulf countries where dried fish from this coast has historical trade links.
Tourism is a growing enterprise domain — Daman and Diu's Portuguese heritage, beach access, and relatively liberal retail environment attract significant domestic tourism from Gujarat. Women run guesthouses, restaurants, and retail businesses that serve the tourist economy. The territory's geographic position at the intersection of Gujarat and Maharashtra gives women entrepreneurs access to markets in both states, creating a wider commercial opportunity than the territory's small size might suggest. In this compact industrial and coastal economy, women are increasingly visible as enterprise owners rather than just workers.
Industrial Enterprise
Women in Dadra & NH's manufacturing sector who have risen from factory floor to supervisory and management roles, with some establishing their own small-scale manufacturing units serving the industrial supply chains of the region
Marine Commerce
Women fishmongers and processors of Daman and Diu who control the majority of the coastal fish trade, with some building formal marine product enterprises supplying packaged seafood to national retail chains and export markets
Manufacturing goods from DNHDD factories — made with significant women workforce participation — supply national and international markets across consumer goods, plastics, and textiles. Marine products from women fish traders supply the Gulf countries through established trading links. The territory's growing industrial economy is creating formal employment and enterprise pathways for women that are gradually replacing informal work.
Digital products designed to help you start, grow, and scale your business — wherever you are in India.
Build formal business enterprises from manufacturing or fisheries
Market your coastal hospitality or product business effectively
Manage your industrial, fisheries, or tourism business operations
Learn business formalization and digital marketing for industrial SMEs
Join thousands of women entrepreneurs from Dadra & NH and Daman & Diu and across India who use Srishti Digital Store to grow their businesses online.
The combined UT has 50,000+ SHG members, 8,000+ registered women entrepreneurs, 30% women in manufacturing, and 45% women in fisheries trading. The territory's industrial growth is creating increasing enterprise opportunities for women moving from wage work to business ownership.
The territory's industrial ecosystem includes plastics manufacturing, garment production, consumer goods, and chemical processing. Women who gain manufacturing experience in factories can progress to running small-scale ancillary manufacturing units supplying the larger factories — a proven pathway in Gujarat's industrial corridors adjacent to DNHDD.
Through manufacturing output supplied to national markets, fisheries supply chains, and growing tourism enterprise, DNHDD women contribute to India's industrial and coastal economic development. The territory's manufacturing sector, with significant women participation, produces goods that are embedded in national consumer goods supply chains.
Tourism marketing is the most accessible digital opportunity — Daman and Diu's beaches and Portuguese heritage attract domestic tourists who research online before visiting. Marine product businesses can reach urban consumers through online food platforms. Manufacturing entrepreneurs can use digital platforms to find national clients beyond their immediate industrial cluster.
For tourism and hospitality: build Instagram presence showing your guesthouse, restaurant, or beach-side location. For fisheries: create WhatsApp Business catalog and explore online fish delivery platforms. For manufacturing: build a basic business website and use LinkedIn to connect with procurement managers. Business eBooks from Srishti Digital Store cover multiple business types and growth strategies.