Expert: Entrepreneurship, an avenue for sustainable growth

Nagpur: Entrepreneurship is a buzzword today. An avenue for sustainable growth and progress, it is a profession chosen by many, including women. Unfortunately, the problems women face are different from what their male counterparts encounter, said Anita Rao, project coordinator.

She was speaking at a panel discussion organized by Lady Entrepreneurs Wing of Vidarbha Industries Association on ‘Women entrepreneurship: Opportunities and challenges’.

“Marketing products, lack of funding, gender discrimination and lack of support from the family are some of the problems women entrepreneurs face. But the industry is also tremendously on the rise as women are tenacious and resilient,” Rao said.

The panellists included founder of Go for Chai Anchal Suri Manda, founder of Nativ Chefs Leena Dixit, director of Epsillon Cables Pvt Ltd Meera Joshi and director of Shamlax Metachem Pvt Ltd Anuja Sharma.

The discussion started with each of the panellists talking about their entrepreneurial journey. When asked about how to manage investments and handle funding, Manda said, “It is difficult to get funding nowadays because of changing marketing strategy. I got my funding through a government scheme but that took a lot of hard work and patience.”

Sharma told the audience that there is an extra pressure on women to prove their competency and seriousness. “Not everyone takes women in business seriously. We have to constantly prove that we are serious about our work. We, as women, tend to think with our hearts whereas men think with their minds,” she said.

She encouraged the entrepreneurs to focus on developing their brands. “You need to understand the mindset of consumers and give them what they want. Develop and innovate your brand to keep the customer for a long term.”

Dixit said, “I want healthy competition. It keeps me on my toes and will create more awareness among consumers about my product.”

The panellists then spoke about maintaining a work-life balance and encouraged other women to take time out for themselves too.

The event concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by secretary of VIA LEW Manisha Bawankar. Chairperson of VIA LEW Reeta Lanjewar was present.