IWFCI India National Chapter observed World Entrepreneurship Day on Wednesday, 21st August, 2019 by organizing an Entrepreneurship Summit on the theme ‘Entrepreneurship: Catalyst for Women Empowerment’.
The Summit was attended by young entrepreneurs and more than 350 students from various colleges of Mumbai. The objective of the Summit was to focus on the role of entrepreneurs in creating opportunities that empower women and to engage and encourage students to pursue entrepreneurship as a career option. IWFCI India National Chapter partnered with the Pillai Group of Institutions and Asian Institute of Family Managed Business for this summit.
The Summit commenced with the address of Dr. Daphne Pillai, Chairperson of the Management Board of Mahatma Education Society and President of IWFCI India National Chapter. She spoke about the challenges faced by women at every stage of their career and the power of networking as enablers of entrepreneurship. The next speaker, Ms. Mrinalini Kher, renowned social entrepreneur, spoke about her Yuva Parivartan project which transformed lives of the underprivileged school dropouts through skill development and livelihood opportunities. After this talk, Mr. Aneesh Dhairyawan, Co-founder, Authenticook, highlighted the many inspiring stories of women who found a calling in life through his Food Tech startup venture and discover themselves through their skills especially in the field of authentic and local cuisines. The third speaker, Ms. Shreemayee Nabar, Co-founder of Konkan Sales & Services spoke about her journey from being an alumnus of Pillai College to working for reputed firms in India before ultimately taking the plunge to start her own business.
After the session of inspiring talks, a panel discussion was held on the theme, “Entrepreneurship: A Catalyst for Women Empowerment”. The panelists for this session were Ms. Sangeeta Basu, Founder, Roopsa Crafts, specialized in manufacturing and supplying customized curved sculptures and artifacts; Ms. Reni Pandya, Executive Director, Dak System Inc., Manufacturers of Material Quality Testing Machines, Ms. Smedha Sarkar, Founder, EduMaan Training Services, a social enterprise primarily dedicated to solving unemployment issues in India and CA Namrata Jage, a serial entrepreneur who has set up several businesses which include a CA Firm, consulting setup and a health foods brand. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Celina Joy, Director – Administration and Honorary Secretary, IWFCI India National Chapter and Professor, Pillai Institute of Management Studies & Research. All the panelists shared their inspiring journeys of entrepreneurship and reflected on how their businesses have helped create jobs for women thus empowering them and raising their status in society.
The summit ended with high-tea, giving the participants and speakers an opportunity to network with each other. Delivering the Vote of Thanks, Ms. Yvette Lee, Director – Press & Publicity, IWFCI India National Chapter spoke about the immense impact of such interventions and thanked the speakers for enriching the young minds.
