Women from all walks of life today play an increasingly prominent role in all spheres and are an integral part of the national growth story. However, the latent ability to identify a sought after product or service and the grit and perseverance to launch and run a business, is something that many shy away from.
This is the gap that FLO, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Ladies Organisation, the oldest apex body for business in India, aims to bridge. Established in 1983 as an all India forum for women, FLO provides educational and vocational training programmes, talks, seminars, panel discussions and workshops on a vast range of subjects especially concerning women and business.
“We need to ensure that women can access a level playing field and that their work gets noticed,” said Srikanta Jhaver, Chairperson, FICCI FLO, Chennai chapter and Director, Jhaver Group of Companies. “Last year alone, FLO in cooperation with a unit of Andhra Mahila Sabha, trained 20 women to cook and set up kitchens with the aim of enabling them to supply food to office goers. We also trained 30 women in tailoring in association with the Sabha and raised the funds for the project,” added Jhaver.
Over the next three years, FLO is in the process of tying up with a women’s organisations to train underprivileged women in skills like nursing, geriatric care, the Montessori method of teaching and driving. FLO currently runs Business Consultancy Cells at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata and will soon have one in Chennai as well.
FLO works closely with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and holds programmes all over India especially in the smaller towns, semi-urban and rural areas. At the grass root level, the emphasis is on entrepreneurship development programmes for crafts-persons; at the middle level, on women who wish to set up their own industry; and at the senior level, on enhancing the skills of women who are already into business.