According to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the twenty-first century would be the century of women, who will lead society in every area. "Women in the twenty-first century have the capacity to lead every sector including industry and entrepreneurship," Naveen stated at the maiden Women's Business Mela of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Women's Entrepreneurship Council (IWEC) at Janata Maidan here in virtual mode.
For almost seven million women in Odisha, he said, the Mission Shakti initiative has been a hallmark of women empowerment. “They are now the symbol of transformational change in rural Odisha,” Naveen said. The Chief Minister complimented the IWEC on organising "India's first Women's Business Mela," calling it a "historic day" for all female entrepreneurs of the state.
He also praised the IWEC for its role in empowering women and assisting them in their entrepreneurial endeavours. Naveen congratulated IWEC for reaching the 100-member milestone set by him in January 2020, and expressed his hope that it would soon expand to a team of 500 entrepreneurs.
Arun Kumar Sahoo, the Minister of Agriculture and Higher Education, complimented the IWEC on its effort and emphasised the State government's measures for women's empowerment.
The five-day mela will feature business conferences, seminars, workshops, talk shows, investor presentations, discussions on MSME programmes, a financial literacy push, and an award-giving event, among other things, with over 150 stalls set up by women entrepreneurs and women-led firms.
The mela was also attended by a number of SHGs led by Mission Shakti. At the event, tribal entrepreneurs have set up stands to display and sell their distinctive products. Pradeep Sureka, ICC president, JB Pany, ICC Odisha chairman, M K Gupta, IWEC co-chairperson, and convenor of IWEC Odisha Tanaya Patnaik, co-convener of IWEC Odisha, and Sukirti Patnaik spoke at the event.
On the first day of the mela, OSDA chairman Subroto Bagchi and actress Lara Dutta were visitors. The mela will also feature parliamentarians Achyuta Samanta and Sujeet Kumar, actor Arjun Rampal, film director Imtiaz Ali, and motivational speaker Gauranga Das Prabhu to encourage budding entrepreneurs. On May 8, the festival will come to a close.
