Mumbai (NVI):Around 180 women entrepreneurs and representatives of global corporations will converge here tomorrow for a day-long programme to connect women-controlled businesses with the international firms for better opportunities and returns.
The ‘ThinkBig!’ event is being organised by WEConnect International which identifies, educates, registers, and certifies women’s business enterprises that are at least 51 percent owned, managed and controlled by one or more women, Angela Walker, Vice President of Communications and Marketing of WEConnect International, told NVI today.
Women account for over $20 trillion in spending per year and are involved in over 80 percent of consumer purchasing decisions worldwide.
“The real drivers of the economy are women—as business leaders, employees, consumers, and entrepreneurs. And yet, globally women-owned businesses earn less than 1 percent of the money spent on vendors by large corporations and governments,” said Walker, who has earlier worked with the World Bank.
“We bring large corporations of the world like IBM, Johnson and Johnson and Procter and Gamble. We connect women entrepreneurs with such major corporations across the regions to create opportunities, competition and market access,” she added while giving an insight of the event and the activities of WEConnect.
She said although ‘ThinkBig!’ is a day-long event, WEConnect has round-the-year activities in India to help women-owned businesses associate with multi-national corporates.
Globally, there are approximately 224 million women entrepreneurs worldwide who participate in the ownership of nearly 35 percent of privately-owned firms in the formal economy, she said.
WEConnect brings together some of the largest corporations in the world and female business owners from across the region, creating opportunities for greater market access for women-owned businesses.
ThinkBig! serves as a platform for women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment as well as corporate engagement around inclusive and impactful sourcing and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
WEConnect is a platform for women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment as well as corporate engagement around inclusive and impactful sourcing and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Walker said self-registration for women entrepreneurs is free of cost and even those in informal sector can participate and get certificates. There is no minimum capital required.
