CII Communique July 2011

msmesConnecting Women EntrepreneursThe integration of womeninto Global Value Chains (GVCs)is integral to the growth ofMSMEs, and is in line withthe practice of Diversity andInclusivity being implemented bybusinesses across the globe, saidDr Shyam Agarwal, AdditionalSecretary and DevelopmentCommissioner, Union Ministryof Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs). However,there should be no compromise on quality and merit, andthese would always stand above gender in any businessor an economic decision, he declared, at the Conferenceon Connecting Women Entrepreneurs, organised byCII in New Delhi on 8 June.Dr Agarwal said his department was fully committedtowards facilitating the growth and development of womenownedenterprises, and explained how the implementationof various schemes (for capacity-building, strengthening ofdatabase and advocacy by industry/enterprise associations,etc) was actually aiding this process.Mr Rakesh Rewari, Deputy Managing Director, SmallIndustries DevelopmentBank of India (SIDBI),said that small businessesare a good source ofinnovation, creativity,competitive pricing andquick and agile businesspractices. Buying fromwomen-owned businessesunlocks not only women’spotential, but also thepotential of corporations and governments, he said.Ms Elizabeth Vazquez, President & CEO, WEConnectInternational, observed that Supplier Diversity is beingimplemented by corporations because the age-oldsystems, where the ‘large’ buy from the ‘large,’ haveleft almost no place for smaller vendors to compete.Many large corporations now have a supplier diversityprogramme to be more competitive, with more dynamicand innovative supply options, thereby reducing costsand demonstrating return on investment. Corporateswhich are serious about encouraging Women OwnedEnterprises (WOEs) into their Global Value Chains,commit a certain percentage of their annual procurementElizabeth Vazquez, President & CEO, WEConnect International; Rakesh Rewari, Dy. MD, SIDBI;Dr. Shyam Agarwal, Addl. Secretary & Development Commissioner, MSME; Ramesh Datla, Chairman,CII National MSME Council, and Gurpal Singh, Deputy Director General, CIIRitu Raina, General Manager, Bharti Walmart; Saagarika Ghoshal, CPO,Reliance Entertainment; Jayashree Satagopan, Vice President –Interventional & Surgery, GE Healthcare, and Anupama Arya,National Co-Chair, CII Young Indiansto their Supplier Diversity and Inclusivity programme. Thediversity spend is tracked by the corporates, and evenmentioned in their annual reports, she added.Earlier Mr Ramesh Datla, Chairman, CII National MSMECouncil, said that in consonance with CII’s theme of‘Business for Livelihood,’ its agenda for MSMEs this yearwould focus on Suppliers Diversity and Inclusiveness,which was in line with the CII sub-theme of AffirmativeAction for the year. He said the participation of womenin supply chains introduces new competition to existingsuppliers. Including women-owned businesses in thisarena brings particular value, as women make the majorityof consumer decisionsand understand marketrequirements, he said.Mr Gurpal Singh, DeputyDirector General, CII,explained that that theobjective of the conferencewas to inspire corporationsand governments to adoptinclusive procurementpractices, in light of the Draft Procurement Policy ofthe Ministry of MSME. With the economic slowdowncausing a rethink in global sourcing, the time is ripe toembrace supplier diversity, in particular sourcing fromwomen as vendors, he added. This conference wasalso a forum bringing together corporate, governmentand opinion leaders committed to empowering womenthrough trade, he said.The deliberations during the conference focussed ontopics such as: The Business Case for Supplier Diversityand Inclusion in India, Draft Procurement Policy forMSMEs - Creating Business Opportunities for WomenEntrepreneurs, and Empowering and Integrating Womenas Vendors in Global Value Chains.Communiqué July 2011 | 37