MUMBAI, INDIA - World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI) jointly organized the 6th Global Economic Summit (GES) on ‘Women’s Empowerment: Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Capacity Building’ from March 27-29, 2017 at WTC Mumbai.

The key features of the Summit were conference, exhibition, business-to-business meetings, workshops for budding exporters and start-ups and field trips to women-owned and managed MSMEs. Leaders from industry, trade policy, global developmental organizations, government officials (including diplomats) from more than 25 countries participated in the Summit.

Some of the key exhibitors in the Summit included women-led MSMEs, handicrafts and handloom products, state governments, non-government organizations working towards improving the cause of women across the nation.

The three-day Summit featured six panel sessions on the following topics, namely ‘The Evolving Woman in the 21st Century’, 'STEM - Education, Science, Technology and Empowerment of Women’, ‘Leadership and Women’s Foray into the Business Domain’, ‘Government and Institutional Support for Women’, ‘Women Empowerment through Capacity Building and Social Entrepreneurship’, and ‘Women’s Empowerment through Diversity, Art and Culture’.

Eminent experts, namely, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General, UNCTAD, inaugurated the Summit and presented the keynote address. Ms. Dorothy Ng’ambi Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva delivered the theme address and launched SheTrades, a mobile and web application, which aims to connect one million women entrepreneurs to markets by 2020. WTC Mumbai and AIAI are the verifiers for Indian women entrepreneurs to be registered on the application. Mr. Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director General presented the special address.

On March 29, 2017, WTC Mumbai arranged a post-event tour to Women’s India Trust in Panvel, for direct interaction with women who gain financial and economic liberation through skill training and work programs on handicrafts, food produce and small scale toys manufacturing. Around 25 foreign delegates participated in this tour.

Chief international guests in the event included Ms. Dorothy Ng'ambi Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, ITC, Mr. Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director-General, WTO, Ms. Michaela Marksová, Minister of Labor & Social Affairs, Czech Republic, Dr. Ruby Dhalla, Canadian politician, and Ms. Nora K. Terrado, Undersecretary, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Philippines.

The Indian guests included Honourable Mr. Deepak Vasant Kesarkar, Minister of State - Home (Rural), Finance and Planning, Government of Maharashtra, Dr. Sonia Sethi, Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, AVTAR I-WIN, Anand Mohan Jha, Principal, NSDC, Dolly Thakore, Actor to name a few.

In Photo: from (L-R): Mr. Deepak Kesarkar, Ms. Rupa Naik, Ms. Abha Singh, Ms. Dorothy Ng’ambi Tembo and Ms. Roshini Diwakar.

To learn more about WTC Mumbai, please click on the source link below.