EVENT WRAP-UP: DISHA WORKSHOP WITH UNDP, XYNTEO AND IKEA FOUNDATION, HYDERABAD, AUGUST 11, 2016

Project DISHA, a three-year collaboration between the UNDP in India, IKEA Foundation, Xynteo and the India Development Foundation aims to equip one million women with the skills and knowledge to enhance their employability and help them secure jobs. A regional workshop on “Enabling Success for Self-Employed Women Entrepreneurs and Women-Led Enterprises” was organized with WEConnect International in India on 10th August as part of the collaboration.

The Project DISHA workshop brought together a range of stakeholders from business and government, along with established women entrepreneurs, to address how to strengthen the links connecting entrepreneurs, businesses and markets.

During the Workshop, Parul Soni, Executive Director, WEConnect International in India, moderated a Panel Discussion on “Enabling Access to Markets.” Panelists included Srividhya Deshpande, IT & HR category manager – Procurement, Monsanto; Naveen Vangari, Supply Chain Manager, Wells Fargo; Rajneesh Kumar, Senior Vice president and Head, Corporate Affairs, Walmart India. All three panelist represent WEConnect International global members.

Highlights from the session:

• “Unlike our other markets, in India we have B2B businesses and some of the small businesses are our suppliers… We thought ‘how can we create a more collaborative effort with our merchants?’ and partnered with WEConnect International in India in order to do so.” – Rajneesh Kumar, Senior Vice president and Head, Corporate Affairs, Walmart India
• “Corporates are helping each other. For example, Accenture introduced us to a women association. The WEConnect network works together.” – Srividhya Deshpande, IT & HR category manager – Procurement, Monsanto