New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday called for a common Brics trade platform to help small and women-led enterprises access buyers and markets across member countries. He also urged the emerging markets' bloc to turn its proposed Women's Advancement Fund into a concrete initiative.

Speaking at the Brics Women's Business Alliance Women-Led Development Conference ahead of the grouping's summit in New Delhi, Goyal said that entrepreneurs seeking to enter international business face three key barriers: access to credit, access to buyers and markets, and predictable rules for doing business.

"Foreign trade should not be viewed only as a collateralized business," Goyal said, arguing that trade should...