Digital Women Awards Live Updates: 7 Years of Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs

Welcome to Day 2 of the SheThePeople Digital Women Awards presented by Google and powered by Colors. The attention today is on realities of entrepreneurship and the new challenges the pandemic poses. Listen to inspirational speakers who bring with them a reality check on how our world is changing.

Harsh Realities with Harsh Mariwala

He started out small, took on giant companies and stood his ground about a business idea. Harsh Mariwala built Marico into one of the country's most independently run business. Today it has brands across the consumer spectrum. What was his entrepreneurial journey like?

Secrets to Success with A Small Business 

Small can be great. Because not everyone wants to, needs to scale. Small businesses are collectively a growth economy. We speak to women who are building curated startups and fulfilling a beautiful gap for crafts, earth-first products.

The seventh edition of SheThePeople Digital Women Awards is here. With a line up of speakers from across India, this year's edition brings you key government speakers, like Minister for Women Development, Smriti Irani and Minister for Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Women entrepreneurs from different sectors across India will participate. From Bareilly to Bengaluru, we are hosting sessions across critical themes like Moms Turn Entrepreneurs During COVID, The Female Gap in Fintech Sector, How the Food Business pivoted during the pandemic and much more.

The award recognises women entrepreneurs who have taken the initiative of establishing something of their own and in turn are giving opportunities to many more women in India.

11 am: Founder Speak with Shaili Chopra

The founder of SheThePeople Shaili Chopra who conceptualised the Digital Women Awards 2021 by taking the viewers through the seven year long journey of the awards which saw the participation of many pathbreaking female entrepreneurs of India. She puts the spotlight on the very capable thousands of women of the country who upped the ante by making use of the internet and the power of technology as an enabler.

Chopra highlights how women don't just go back with awards but get much more than that. How they go back with networks and connections that help them thrive. Through Digital Women Awards, SheThePeople has been able to reach, to support entrepreneurs, government bodies at both rural and urban entrepreneurship, large corporations and the banking sector. The women's economy has to be looked at as a very strong economic opportunities. According to the World Economic Forum, it is going to take 289 years before women and men get paid the same.

Chopra says, "Women feel that it is not time to sit back and wait for that time to come. It is time to take entrepreneurship into a mega revolution." She then goes on to introduce the panel for the seventh edition of the award which includes Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of Women and Child Development of India Smriti Irani to young women in rural and urban India who are making an effort to see if they can stand up for themselves, build small and big, and have a source of income that truly got hindered in the wake of the pandemic."

12 am: Start Out Stories

In collaboration with the incubation wing NSRCEL of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore SheThePeople's Ideas Editor Yamini Pushtake introduces three entrepreneurship stories; Neha Mathur of Personifwy, Shruti Ajmera Reddy of Hapup and Leane Pais of The Unopened Box.

The entrepreneurs share their the moment they decided to take the plunge and how they found the pandemic, the demand led them to decide they want to create something different for the one's in need. It takes a lot for women to make the shift and take the plunge into setting up their own business and the panelists make for a reminder on how to do that.

The three women share their experiences since the time they manoeuvred the ups and down, how they stayed motivated through all, how they built their core team from the ground and much more.

Small Business Ideas Shaping India’s Story.

Women in interior India are making entrepreneurship their vehicle for independence, self-belief and growth. In this discussion meet four such women.

Strong Cuppa Startups: Women Lead India’s Coffee Revolution

Women are totally changing India's beverage bazaar. From cold brews to hot cuppas, with fair trade practises and attention to small-batch, these entrepreneurs have great lessons for those wanting to enter this market.

Phenomenal pivot by many women in food business shows there is innovation in the world's oldest sector. Explore how these women entrepreneurs are shaping a new generation of foodpreneurs.