Women’s Day 2024: Global Summit spotlights women entrepreneurs in India

As per the World Bank’s latest India Development Update (IDU), India continues to show resilience against the backdrop of a challenging global environment. The country’s thriving growth in pivotal sectors such as IT, Pharma, and Semiconductors is poised for unprecedented expansion. There is an urgent need to integrate a strategy for inclusivity into the very fabric of this trajectory.

In February, the “Empowering Inclusion–Advancing Sustainable Value Chains Summits” took place in India. Elizabeth A Vazquez, CEO & Co-Founder of WEConnect International, a member-led, global non-profit that brings together large corporate, multilateral, and government buyers with qualified women-owned suppliers worldwide, was in the country for the summit.

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India Today had the opportunity to have a conversation with her on the topic of ‘supporting women entrepreneurs and businesses in the Indian scenario’.

What has been the response from women entrepreneurs from the three cities summit that concluded with the Bengaluru sessions?

What are some interesting insights? So, all three cities had women and businesses that were represented from all industry sectors, and I think that was what was most fascinating. You had some of the traditional women and businesses who are artisans, who are in various business services, like owning a law firm or an accounting firm.

We also have a lot of women in manufacturing, and women in tech, and so I love the shift that we’re seeing with women going into more non-traditional sectors, even women in construction.

So, I was very inspired. Feedback from them was that they were very inspired and hopeful because they met a lot of actual buyers who were looking to buy products and services from them. And so, I think that gives a lot of validation and a lot of encouragement.

Please tell us about your work in India. How many women’s businesses are certified in India and southern states?

So, we have hundreds of businesses that are certified, at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled, but we also have thousands of women and businesses because they can register for free.

And so, they’re able to go on to the WeConnectInternational.org website and, within 10 minutes, put in their basic information, contact information, the name of the business, the types of products and services, the size of the business, and it just makes it easier for our member buyers when they search for AI services or when they search for trainers. It just makes it easier for them to find women suppliers here in India.

How do you support women business owners to create a more sustainable and inclusive global economy?

First and foremost, we were a nonprofit, created by big buyers. They spend $4 trillion a year on products and services. And women-owned businesses represent only about 1% of the money spent on products and services. And our role is to try to make the invisible visible. We’re trying to make it easier for the supply to connect with the demand.

And so, having women registered on this database makes it a lot easier for these big buyers to find these incredible women suppliers of all products, all services, all over the country, all over the region, all over the world, and 135 countries, so that when there is a business opportunity, a bidding opportunity, they’re able to invite those businesses because they’ve searched for the type of product and service they’re looking for. And they’ll invite those businesses to participate in a bid to try to compete for their business.

You’ve worked with women business owners in both developed and developing countries. What are the challenges that women business owners face?

There are some consistent challenges in the most developed economies and the least developed economies. First and foremost, it doesn’t even occur to most women to knock on the door of a big corporation or of their government.

And so, part of what we’re trying to do is demystify how trade works, how supply chains work, how procurement works, and to give role models because there are a lot of women-owned businesses that are successfully selling to large organisations. We have to do a better job of telling their stories of how they sold them to that company, what lessons to learn, and also recognise that women have own purchasing power, 20 trillion, as a matter of fact, per year.

And so we have a decision to make if we’re half the population, and we’re not happy with the fact that we’re invisible in supply chains, we have the power to change that in how we spend our money. So that’s how we spend our money, but it’s also how organisations, corporations, governments, and multilateral. It’s how we all spend our money, which says everything about who we are, and what we value.

What are your expectations of the Indian market?

I have very high expectations for the Indian market because by 2030, India is expected to have a $10 billion market cap. So you’re growing at a very, very fast pace.

I think everyone who came here as a part of the G20 recognises the strategic role that India plays in the global economy, not just from a technology perspective, which is significant given the implications of AI and the semiconductor industry in particular, but all the other support services in sustainability and, in particular, your large, number of MSMEs and the emphasis that Vision 2047 has on the role of SMEs and women-led development in particular so that’s all very inspiring to me.

Do you want to add anything else if I miss out on asking you questions?

Mostly, I’m just really grateful that you’re telling the story because that is a critical piece of this. We do this work with great passion and love in our community, and it’s really important that others hear messages of strong women and businesses who are creating jobs, who are providing solutions to problems, and that there are increasing corporations here in India that care about how they spend their money.

And they want to make sure that at least some of it is with the women of India and the other underutilised communities that we all care about.

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The summit was supported by the US Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs to promote US- India collaboration on supplier diversity and inclusion and to enhance the supplier diversity and inclusion ecosystem by fostering inclusive value chains.

The Summit was designed to facilitate a discussion on the business rationale for multi-dimensional aspects of inclusive sourcing and equitable procurement practices in these sectors.

The exchanges and brainstorming aim to explore perspective on how Government and corporations can strategically leverage business policies and harness their purchasing power to cultivate business environments with more competitive, inclusive, innovative and sustainable value chains.