4 November2022Editor NoteMeet Kolkata & its Strong Brand of Business Women Kolkata is a city known for its culture and leisure. But the third largest city of India (after Mumbai and Delhi), is also a prime business commercial and financial hub. The city which was once the premier Indian port is today one of the key cities for Eastern India. Kolkata has the third highest GDP (PPP) amongst all Indian metros which amounts to $150.1 billion. The City of Joy is also home to various industrial units, some of which are operated by public and some operated by private corporations. The primary industries that Kolkata houses include steel, heavy engineering, mining, minerals, cement, pharmaceuticals, food processing, agriculture, electronics, textiles, and jute. Beyond the traditional business landscape, Kolkata is also gradually rising to prominence and as a startup hub. The city today is home to a strong eco-system that includes incubators, accelerators, angel investors and venture capital funds. The guidance imparted by these stakeholders helps young startups in the initial planning and early growth stage. Some of the city's primary incubators including IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, Ekta Technology Business Incubation Center, Kolkata Ventures Incubators among few others. Additionally accelerators such as Neoleap Accelerator, Startup Bengal Acceleration centers and AmplifiSaaS Accelerator have also been playing a major supporting role in helping young entrepreneurs set up shop within the City of joy. Kolkata also has a healthy presence of co-working spaces. Lately VC firms have been working towards strengthening their presence in the Kolkata startup ecosystem. The prosperity that has been a constant for the city of Kolkata has not eluded the fairer sex. Women have been playing and continue to play a strong role in the city as business leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals. One such name is of SarikaKakrania the founder of Pink City, a Kolkata based fashion brand which follows a sustainable fashion design process by drawing from the rich heritage of the Indian crafts and focuses on developing a fashion collection that integrates artisan craft textiles into the design process. Founded in 2014 one of the brand's biggest milestones has beenwhen Shilpa Shetty donned the Pink city label, not once but twice, for her special occasions. The second time around, the brand designed clothes for her kids and sisterShamita Shetty too. Another noteworthy young women leader from Kolkata is Amrita Agrawal, Director. She has a track record of working with MNCs and is an expert in the information technology and services sector. Currently working as animplementation partner for Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and in the business intelligence services field. Loreto College in Kolkata and the Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai both produced strong professionals.The current edition of Women Entrepreneur India magazine tells you the story of these prolific women leaders who have crafted a niche for themselves in their respective industries. Read on and do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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