Gender equality, sustainability focus of Assam Women Entrepreneurs Conclave

In order to bring about sustainability in our approach towards the environment, it is important to encourage the participation of women in the workforce. The recent trend of women entrepreneurship in India augurs well for the environment and sustainability. It has been reported that egalitarian societies tend to have greater concern for the ecology and are more sensitive towards anthropogenic pollution. No wonder, in this era of globalization and with the emergence of a progressive way of thinking, more women are taking up entrepreneurship as a career option. Today, one third of the world’s entrepreneurs are said to be women. They are breaking barriers and participating and contributing to the national economy.

Keeping this in mind, a two-day event for the Women Entrepreneurs of Assam is being held on January 29 and 30, 2018 at the NEDFi House, Guwahati. The event is being organized by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The platform is meant to provide women entrepreneurs tools for learning the best practices, knowledge sharing, promoting business as well as building connections. The conclave is set to provide a platform to women up for a sustainable living.

“This is a first of its kind conclave that is being held in Assam or the North East part of the country. Though this region has a greater number of women entrepreneurs, they are all at very small or micro levels. They are also restricted to the traditional sectors such as handloom and crafts. We want to help them scale up and break these barriers. The platform will help them explore new sectors and possibilities. We also want to spread awareness through this platform about various schemes and initiatives that can be utilized for the benefit of women entrepreneurs. The event also seeks to bring them under one roof and get them to interact and learn from one another ,” says Dr. Sriparna Barua, Head, Centre for Industrial Extension, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship.

The event is also focused at encouraging eco-living and environmental sustainability by being a catalyst to the growth of vocational activities such as handicrafts made from water hyacinth or handlooms, organic food processing, or the use of organic products by the beauty industry.

“At the Assam Women Entrepreneurs Conclave, I am looking forward to meeting lots of people and discuss aspects of online business. With the advent of the Internet, doing business online is much easier than before. Being online gives the leverage to reach a wider audience and thus increase revenue. I am excited to discuss and encourage entrepreneurs to go online and do more business,” says Puspanjalee Das Dutta, online entrepreneur and blogging coach.

Assam Women Entrepreneurs Conclave seeks to help tackle challenges

However, women entrepreneurs face a number of challenges in terms of idea generation, access to finance, access to market, time management (family and business), etc. The conclave aims at providing women entrepreneurs with the right platform to showcase their talents, inspire them, help them network with people, and develop their entrepreneurial skills.