The second day of Business Beyond Borders, organised by Madhya Pradesh Association of Women Entrepreneurs (MAWE) at Kushabhau Thakre Auditorium concluded recently. On this occasion, Dr Archana Bhatnagar, Founder President and Chairperson of MAWE, said, “Women entrepreneurs who do business do not have knowledge of many aspects related to their business, such as marketing, packaging and branding, government schemes and new tools like chat, GPT, Meta, AI. Due to this lack of information, women entrepreneurs lag in expanding their business.” First Session Opening Plenary Session was held on the topic - ‘Expanding Horizons’.

 

In this panel, the participants were made aware of what kind of strategies they can use to expand their business beyond the borders of their State and country. Also, what works can be done by using various Government schemes and modern technology which can open way for business expansion in the future. Archana Bhatnagar -Chairperson & founder President - MAWE, Jabalpur; Mercy Epao IAS - Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India; Semhal Guesh Berhe - Founder & CEO of Kabana Design, Ethopia; Shaira Saleem - Managing Director, Sheri Private Limited, Maldives; Passant E - Founder of Yashmak, Egypt; Jayani DeSilva - Member/Trainer - Ceylon Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs and Head of Country HR, WILEY, Srilanka; Dr Kesinee Tanomponkanc - MD, Ketkanj 88 Mahasap, Bangkok; Elina Remizova - Russia were the guests. They made the participants aware of the importance and nuances of expanding business beyond the borders of the country and abroad. Next session on ‘Amplifying Your Brand’.

 

he businesswomen shared this topic with their own experiences with women entrepreneurs. Anuradha M Agarwal - Founder, We Think North, New Delhi; and Sunita Ramnathkar - Director, Mitchell USA, Mumbai, Maharashtra, both the successful women entrepreneurs presented the story of their business journey from the beginning to their success before the participants, which will definitely benefit all the women entrepreneurs. Another session: ‘Export (Business Expansion Tools and Government Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs). Joyatri Ray - State Lead and Policy Specialist, UN Women, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Christopher Minj - Designation Assistant Director Gr-I, IEDS, Br MSME DFO, Rewa; Vedant Kothari - Co-Founder, IndiaPort App, Mumbai, Maharashtra; Kapil Wase - Assistant General Manager , SIDBI Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, were the subject experts.

 

They explained in detail all the certifications related to export and how small-scale women entrepreneurs can export their products. Special Speaker Jeeza Hassan -President, Women’s Devlopment community, Maldives addressed a sessionin which she inspired women entrepreneurs with her success story and gave information about how one can reach the destination of success despite many ups and downs. Another prominent peaker Sneh Nigam also thrilled the women participants with her success story and presented an example of how even a small business can reach great heights. Alaknanda Das - Founder, Looms Ecopreneurs Foundation, Assam; Renu Nayak - Founder, Signature Boutique, Bhopal; Nisha Nair - Founder, Yamini Lifestyles, Bangalore, Karnataka; Sapna Singh - Founder, Q - Source, New Delhi; Padmaja Rao - Founder, Urban Wood Interiors, Bangalore, Karnataka; Anushka Jaisinghani - Co-Founder, Snack Me, Bangalore, Karnataka also enlightened the participants with their inspirational stories.

 

They highlighted the kind of efforts all the women entrepreneurs have to make from the beginning of their business to expand it to a larger extent and despite many obstacles, they have to remain firm on their path and always remain engaged in expanding their business. A session on ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ was also held. Pooja Bijlani gave detailed information on this topic. To understand common language, Chat, GPT, WhatsApp, Meta AI etc. are such tools which knowingly or unknowingly have influenced the life of every person from illiterate to educated. The doubts of the participants were resolved by Pooja Bijlani. President Mati Bhavna Madan, Senior Vice President Satrupa Rabra, Secretary Monica Jolly, Joint Secretary Nisha Nair and the commendable contribution of Jinnat Khanan, Jasmeet Kaur, Seema Badal Swami, Sandhya Borkar, Anshita Chaurasia, Samidha Mishrakar, Renu Nayak, Pooja Nigam, Dr Vishakha Srivastava, Meenu Kaplish, Manjari Srivastava worked hard for the success of the event.