City gets its first Women Entrepreneurs chapter
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the largest chambers in India with over 7,000 members and several affiliated bodies. Women Entrepreneurs (WE) is a forum of Women Empowerment and Economic Wellbeing supported by Tamil Nadu Chamber Foundation. WE consists of women from all business sectors including homemakers.
It was originally started in 2008 and headquartered in Madurai. Today this forum takes pride in having three other chapters in Coimbatore and Bengaluru with its latest in Chennai, launched on Friday at Hotel Deccan Plaza. There are 250 members in Tamil Nadu.
“We function holistically in the progress of women in family, social and business aspects. The objectives are implemented through seminars, workshops, training programmes, factory visits, mentorship and success stories from other entrepreneurs. WE extends its verticals to women in corporate, rural areas and differently-abled as well. WE Canada is an international chapter. The idea is cross-learning and cross-networking. Some of the other local chapters include Tirunelveli and Salem,” said Rajakumari Jeevagan, chairman of WE.
The primary motive of WE is to prune women in leadership, innovation, dynamism, risk navigation, and in art of balancing to achieve personal and professional success. Rajakumari, who launched the chapter in the city, said, “Our forum is culturally rooted and globally oriented. Every chapter in different districts has about 50 women. We wanted to take it slow and hence the delay in establishing ourselves in the city. The women here are progressive-thinking.
We look forward to working with them.” Some of the other key verticals include WE-Lead, a yearly conference on empowerment and entrepreneurship. WE-Bazaar creates a market for members’ products. “Right from taking loans for starting their business to sustenance in the industry, women are guided. Our vision is to take women of Tamil Nadu to great heights. What sets us apart is our importance to nurturing them, both in terms of cultural significance and industrial awareness,” she said.