MSME Joint Secretary, Ateesh Kumar Singh inaugurated 6th International Conference of women entrepreneurs organized by FIWE

On Mar 23, 2022

Mar.23,2022, New Delhi : MSME Joint Secretary Ateesh Kumar Singh inaugurated the International conference of women entrepreneurs organized by Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs (FIWE) in the Capital today. The three day conference will witness more than 200 women entrepreneurs from India and abroad, keen to develop their skills and strengthen their businesses. Founded in 1993, FIWE is a national level organization devoted towards entrepreneurship development of women in the country.

Speaking at the occasion, Singh said, “One of the areas picked by the Conference is to dig into the current challenges being faced by the sector, another is inclusion. We would love to receive the outcome of the conference which would be of immense value in policy formulation, program implementation ad future planning for the sector by the government.

The pandemic has thrown new challenges for MSMEs, while the sector is already grappling with generic challenges. MSMEs need to chart new paths, new strategies and systems to put in place. The govt has been leading the recovery effort through a slew of programmes and schemes for the MSME sector.

“With economies bouncing back after the pandemic, we are glad that women entrepreneurs are taking the lead and coming for the conference. Over 100 women entrepreneurs are expected to come from Singapore, Maldives, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan”, said Dr. Rajni Aggarwal, President, FIWE

“The theme of the Conference “Mission Possible”, aptly describes our objective to emerge stronger from the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. The pandemic has already shown our entrepreneurs the importance of digital and social media. And quick adaption and continuous reinvention are the key to survive and thrive in testing times”, said Poonam K Malhotra, Vice President, FIWE.

”Women entrepreneurship can be truly transformative and leverages women’s economic empowerment for creation of jobs and prosperity. The Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID) promotes MSMEs especially those led by women through policy research. ISID is happy to partner with FIWE and the MSMEs Ministry of the Indian Government to host the 6th International Conference on Women-led MSMEs. We look forward to rich discussions by experts and successful women business leaders on how to tap the full potential of women entrepreneurship for inclusive industrial transformation”, said Nagesh Kumar, Director, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID)

Women entrepreneurs as well as employed women suffered economically more than their men counterparts due to the pandemic. A report by Bain and Company reveals that almost 73 per cent of women-run enterprises in India were negatively impacted by COVID-19; while the revenue of almost 20 per cent of women entrepreneurs dwindled to zero. “However, they are more than willing to turn around the situation, the outcome of our conference just proves the same. They are confident of quick revival”, adds Aggarwal

“While we witnessed many women entrepreneurs shutting shops, there were also many new women entrepreneurs springing up during the pandemic, some who lost their jobs and others who left them to turn entrepreneurs. Certain enterprises also witnessed an increase in revenue”, adds Malhotra. As seen in EdelGive’s Landscape Study on Women Entrepreneurship that was spread across 13 states and had a sample size of 1,200 women, 19 per cent of the women surveyed cited an improvement in their fiscal gains.

Equipped with the resilience of spirit and adaptability, the constraints of the COVID-19 era has revealed that active support across the ecosystem is all women need to succeed as entrepreneurs.

Keeping the above in mind, the three day conference has been specifically designed to include expert sessions on various important aspects like access to finance through innovative technologies, leveraging e-commerce and digital marketing for business growth and chat sessions with successful entrepreneurs, etc. Apart from this, there will be one-to-one business meetings, factory visits, exhibition and Priyadarshini Award ceremony.