Women entrepreneurs upbeat on Global Entrepreneurship Summit

Hyderabad: With the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) slated for next week here focusing on women, women entrepreneurs and industry bodies are on an upbeat mood.

"Any event that offers tangible benefits to women entrepreneurs is laudable because women face lots of challenges while steering the company they found or run. We are happy that this edition of GES is focusing on women entrepreneurs and above all it's happening right here in Hyderabad," Vanitha Datla, Vice Chairperson, Elico Ltd, told The Hans India. Till recently, she was the chairperson of CII Telangana Chapter.

Datla, who passionately espouses the cause of women entrepreneurship and strongly feels that women should take active part in nation-building, says that governments should encourage more and more women to take the path of entrepreneurship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the three-day GES 2017 in the city on November 28 in the presence of Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump. She is also his Advisor at the White House.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will also participate in the global event which will focus on women with its core theme being ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’. Over 1,500 entrepreneurs from 170 countries are taking part in the mega summit and 52.5 per cent of them are women.

“Women representing more than 50 per cent of GES delegates is a welcome change and forums like the global summit not only help increase participation, but also empower female entrepreneurs.

More of these forums are needed to showcase successful women entrepreneurs who stand as inspiration, as well as generate awareness on the opportunities available for women,” said Radhika Choudary, Co-Founder, Freyr Energy, a Hyderabad-based renewable energy startup.

Hyderabad is becoming the new destination for startups and GES 2017 in this regard, will offer an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, VCs and investors from across the globe, she added.

According to her, women ended up taking a back seat in the past because of biological reasons and socio-cultural taboos. “However, the changes in the structural idea of a workplace and ecosystem are slowly turning things on its head.

Several government schemes have been outlined to help women entrepreneurs. India is now witnessing women in leadership roles in several industries such as finance, pharma, FMCG and energy which were earlier considered to be male dominated,” she said.

P Soudamini, former president of Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE), maintained that it was not easy for women to set up business and run it successfully. “Women face numerous challenges when they want to establish a company. Despite such hurdles, many women have succeeded in their endeavours,” she said.

Soudamini who has successfully established a company that runs back-office operations for many clients said events like GES would be of immense help to women entrepreneurs. “We are happy that GES is happening in Hyderabad. Hopefully, it will focus on challenges that women face in their entrepreneurial journey,” she said.

However, a member of another industry body complained that the organisers of GES 2017 did not extend invites to any successful women entrepreneurs from the city. “They should have invited at least a few of successful women entrepreneurs from the city. This attitude has come as huge disappointment for us,” she lamented.

By P Madhusudhan Reddy