Source Name: FICCI

Bhubaneswar: Road to Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017

Celebrating and empowering women entrepreneurship - Driving impact

Nov 24, 2017   12:14 PM 
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

The Bhubaneswar Road to Entrepreneurship Summit was inaugurated by Shri Prafulla Samal, Hon’ble Minister, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Women & Child Development, Government of Odisha. Making his inaugural address he stated, "The Government of Odisha is ready to provide proactive support to startups in the state, we are keen to support the women entrepreneurs in the state in every possible way. The state government is trying to bring all women, irrespective of their socio-economic class, caste, creed and religion, in Odisha, into the fold of Self Help Group (SHG) mechanism by 2018. We have even signed an MoU with Facebook to assist our women in digital marketing of their quality products not only in state but also worldwide."

 

 

Inaugural session of the Road to Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017, Bhubaneswar event

 

Shri Badri Narayan Patra, Hon’ble Minister, School and Mass Education, Science and Technology delivered his Special Address - "S&T ministry is committed to creating a conducive environment for startups with the creation of workshops, seminars and incubation cells."

 

Giving a welcome address at the inaugural session, Mr. Nirankar Saxena, Assistant Secretary General and Head Centre for Science, Technology & Innovation - FICCI said, “FICCI has been  working with  the Governments, Developmental agencies and academia  to provide incubation, acceleration, scale up, mentoring and networking support for more than a decade. We strongly feel the need to replicate these successful programs in the state of Odisha to nurture and create unicorns of Odisha.

 

 

Panel discussion by women entrepreneurs at Road to GES Bhubaneswar event

 

Mr. L. N. Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME Department, Government of Odisha, said “That the initiatives of the Government to support  startups are yielding encouraging results. For instance, more than 2 dozen startups from Odisha will be joining the main GES Summit at Hyderabad. MSME department has 24 incubation centres out of which 5 are being supported by MSME Department."

 

Odisha Television Network Director Ms. Jagi Mangat Panda, the leading women entrepreneur of the state, said, “That the most important part of women empowerment is to create an entrepreneurial culture which can only happen if issues concerning women are addressed at the grassroots level. “There are gender biases and stereotypes that are so deeply entrenched in our society that a simple passage of a law will not be able to take care of it, rather some extraordinary efforts have to be taken,” she said.

 

With the focus on women entrepreneurship and gender equality, FICCI partnered with NITI Aayog to organize five interactive entrepreneurial events as a part of “Road to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) Series”. These events brought together industry leaders, start-ups, serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors as well as enablers of the innovation ecosystem viz. government, international agencies and industry associations not only from India but across the globe. The stakeholders deliberated on several aspects related to start-ups such as finance, investment, mentoring and human capital. These events showcased success stories, social impact and also the gaps to be filled to ensure that women entrepreneurs are successful in fulfilling their dreams and ambitions.

 

Touching on various important subjects, the summit sessions included topics like “Empowering women entrepreneurs-Empower, engage & elevate” and “Challenges, success & opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Tier II cities”. A special session was focused on pitches from start-ups to give impetus to women entrepreneurs. The winner received  two Gold tickets and one silver ticket to the main GES event in Hyderabad between 28th and 30th November. During the pitching, two startups from Odisha got a commitment of investment from the investors.

 

In partnership with the Government of the United States of America, NITI Aayog is hosting the eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in India from November 28-30, 2017. The Summit will be addressed by The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. The US delegation will be led by Ms. Ivanka Trump, Advisor to President Trump.

 

Since the inception of GES in 2010, it has travelled across the world from Washington D.C. to Istanbul, Dubai, Marrakech, Nairobi, Kuala Lumpur, Silicon Valley, and now finally Hyderabad! This year is the first time GES will be hosted in South Asia, and the event will highlight India’s enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship - including actions by the government to increase the ease of doing business, eliminating unnecessary regulations and supporting start-ups.

 

At GES 2017, over 1500 attendees, including entrepreneurs, investors, educators, government officials, and business representatives will represent the full measure of entrepreneurial talent from diverse backgrounds across our nation and the world. Through networking, mentoring and workshops, the GES seeks to empower entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative products and services that will transform societies for better tomorrow.