At BWE-2022, MLC Kavitha K calls regrets less than 20% women aware of Govt schemes for them

HYDERABAD, Mar 11 (The CONNECT) -Pandemic played havoc with the lives of working women.  47% of women lost jobs due to covid, while men lost just 7% said Kavitha Kalvakuntla, MLC.

Out of 47% women who lost jobs, not many are likely to come back as employability of women is less than 10%, Kavitha pointed out inaugurating the second edition of Business Women Expo-2022, India’s largest women-owned businesses expo BWE-2022, featuring novel and disruptive businesses and their products

She called for extending a helping hand to women to come back to work and to start employing them today onwards, she told the business community.

The three-day expo is jointly hosted by Hitex and COWE (Confederation of Women Enterprises) India. TiE Hyderabad is its knowledge partner. The other supporting bodies include the Development Commissionerate of the Ministry of MSME, DICCI, HYSEA, FTCCI and others

Over 150 women entrepreneurs from across India are showcasing their products.

According to World Bank, only 21% of women in India are working, while the world average is 47% and the USA is 86%. There will be a direct impact on the economy if we reach the US standard as women’s contribution will be  4.2% to the GDP, besides adding 19 billion US dollars to our nation's economy,  Kavitha said.

She stressed the need to focus on is creating awareness among the women about various schemes the governments offer to develop women entrepreneurship. Not many women are aware of it.  A meager 17% of women are aware of the various schemes introduced by governments and   women bodies in particular and other industrial associations must spread awareness about the government schemes.

The World Bank says 70% women entrepreneurs never got any financial support from any financial institutions.  Most of the women's enterprises are bootstrapped. They start businesses with their own money. It must be changed, Kavitha said stressed that every women entrepreneur needs to be attached to one financial institution for their capital requirement. 

Vandana Maheshwari, National President COWE, said in her welcome address that the theme of International Women's Day is "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow".  If we do not understand the crux of equality, observing these days are meaningless, she said.

COWE is registered as a hand-holding agency on the Stand-up India portal and currently doing the 2nd Edition of Webinar Series of 20 Webinars on various topical subjects of importance to women entrepreneurship, she added

Srikanth T.G, Business Head, HITEX said the value additions introduced in the second edition of Business Women Expo are B2B meets, Investor Connect, Job Drive, investor interface, participation of 150 exhibitors from across India.

Bharani Aroll, President of HYSEA said, the IT Industry in the state is contributing 15% to the state's GDP.

Rashida Adenwala---Vice President, TiE, Hyderabad said on the second day of the Business Women Expo, an Investor Connect programme will be organized.  Over 70 entrepreneurs showed keen interest and submitted their entries to participate in the Investors Connect Programme. We have shortlisted some and curated 20, who will pitch their idea in front of the Jury Panel of Investors and if they like the idea, they will invest in the company, she added. 

K Bhaskar Reddy, President of FTCCI who is also the Managing Director, Creamline Dairy Products Ltd. said FTCCI (The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry) is in the forefront in imparting knowledge to promote women's entrepreneurship.  FTCCI is organising awareness programs in Khammam, Warangal and Nizamabad about rural women entrepreneurship. 

D Chandra Sekhar, Additional Development Commissioner, MSME (Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises)-Development Institute said that they have sponsored 54 women entrepreneurs to participate in Business Women Expo. Out of these 34 women are from Telangana and the rest 20 are from Gujarat and other states.  We have spent Rs 20 lakhs on the same.  Women business owners can also travel abroad to promote their enterprises. For this, we have identified 700 exhibitions.  They can apply for the same before March 15.  We will give them Rs 1.5 lakh towards the flight ticket and Rs 3 lakh toward the participation. 40% of MSME programs are meant for women he said. 

Some of the exhibitors in the expo are Cocotang which offers 121 varieties of tender coconut-based mocktails, pulp shakes and vegan coffees;  Holy Waste turning temple waste into useful products; Wud Box which produces bamboo toothbrushes etc; “Vistaraku Leaf Tableware”,  which is trying to revive the tradition of eating on leaves; patent applied Millet Bowl, a millet-based Proteinshaik that you can drink and eat and many other.