Women-led entrepreneurship, a catalyst for socio-economic transformation

Mumbai: FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women business wing of FICCI, organised 'FLO startup Symposium' in New Delhi here on Monday. The session was held on the role of women in entrepreneurship and Indian startup journey, where India at present has more than 61,000 start-ups and 81 Unicorns, one of the highest in the world. During Covid-19, 44 Unicorns, the privately owned start-up companies valued at over One billion dollars were added and 11 in first three months of the current year 2022. The event was attended by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Ujjwala Singhania, President, Ladies Organisation, FICCI and Dr Aarti Gupta, National Head, FLO-start-up initiative.

"Indian start-ups are disrupting the world especially in new emerging areas of health, nutrition and agriculture. Women owned businesses and enterprises are playing a very prominent role in society and will soon be the next big disruption within the Indian startup ecosystem with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) the digital platform being the biggest enabler," said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, while speaking at 'FLO startup Symposium' organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women business wing of FICCI in New Delhi.

"Women based entrepreneurship is one of the vehicles for realising a more equal society as more women take on entrepreneurship, it serves as a catalyst for socio-economic transformation, by enhancing women's agency and status. Some of the most popular and path-breaking names in the payment ecosystem, travel, beauty, clothing and ecommerce verticals have women at their helm. Presently venture capital (VC) and private equity firms support Women start-ups. This will help frame strategies and suggest appropriate measures to facilitate healthy growth of startups and will help promote women entrepreneurship. Today, there is a growing movement among investors and VCs to recognise and support women-led startups," said Kant.

To all the women entrepreneurs including potential entrepreneurs, my advice will be: the world is looking at India very favourably. Today, India is a compelling growth story poised for rapid growth in consumption, urbanisation, digitisation along with rising income levels, he said.

"We are happy to be associated and working together with NITI Aayog which has been providing an ecosystem for budding and existing women entrepreneurs across the country. The vision of the two partners is to make 'Community' a very interactive, rewarding, so that entrepreneurs can utilise it for fruitful discussions and for sharing knowledge, ultimately benefiting the women entrepreneurs' ecosystem in India," said, Ujjwala Singhania, President, Ladies Organisation, FICCI.

"The Startup cell set up by FLO is one of the initiatives with a purpose to encourage and train women towards entrepreneurship and also train to be investors and mentors to these startups. This will lead to the way for more and more women led start-ups to contribute towards the growth story of the nation. And when women start investing in more women, the multiplier effect could do wonders. NITI Aayog is an integral part in the startup success story of India and we would like to work together in furthering the cause" she said.

"The Women entrepreneurs of today with help of FLO start up initiative are chartering unknown territories fearlessly and are proceeding with great enthusiasm to change the world around them. They are proceeding with great enthusiasm to change the world around them and make a difference with their ideas," said, Dr Aarti Gupta, National Head, FLO-start-up initiative.