Davos Panel: BRICS CCI Urges Women's Entrepreneurship as Economic Core

Women's entrepreneurship must be treated as a core economic strategy, not a peripheral social initiative, leaders from government, finance and industry agreed at a high-level panel convened by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Empowerment (BRICS CCI WE) Vertical in association with the Government of Jharkhand at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The panel, titled Women Entrepreneurship: Driving Growth and Building a Sustainable Economy, brought together policymakers, financial leaders and ecosystem builders from India and other BRICS+ nations to examine how women-led enterprises can unlock resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth at a time of global economic uncertainty and cautious capital.Jharkhand's Vision for Women-Led DevelopmentOpening the discussion at the Jharkhand Pavilion, which marked the state's debut at Davos alongside the launch of its Vision 2050 roadmap, Kalpana Murmu Soren, Member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and Chairperson of the Women and Child Development Committee, outlined how women's empowerment through entrepreneurship has been embedded into Jharkhand's long-term development agenda. "To make society stronger, we must first make our women stronger. In Jharkhand, women are not seen as invisible or unpaid contributors. Through self-help groups, education, skill development and credit linkages, they are becoming economic actors with dignity and confidence," said Soren. She highlighted the scale of the state's women-focused interventions, including more than 3.4 million women mobilised through self-help groups, extensive livelihood programmes, and credit linkages exceeding USD 650 million. Soren also underlined the government's focus on education, skills and early intervention to ensure that women can move from support schemes to sustainable enterprise creation.A Growth Imperative, Not a Social DiscussionModerating the session, Ruby Sinha, President, BRICS CCI Women Empowerment (BRICS CCI WE) and Founder, SheAtWork positioned women entrepreneurship as a growth and competitiveness imperative for BRICS and emerging economies. "Women entrepreneurship is no longer a social discussion. It is a growth imperative. Women entrepreneurs are building capital-efficient, locally rooted businesses that create jobs and resilience. But to scale, they need access, visibility and trust. That requires sharper collaboration between policymakers, capital providers, platforms and the media. Progress will depend not on isolated success stories, but on systems that are intentionally built to recognise, resource and reward women entrepreneurs at scale," said Sinha.Addressing Key Challenges: Capital and NetworksThe Power of Community and NetworksGeovana Quadros, Founder of Mulheres Inspiradoras, one of Latin America's largest women leadership platforms and a partner of UN Women in Brazil, stressed that women's entrepreneurial journeys are often solitary, limiting access to capital, mentorship and influence. "When women grow alone, progress is slow. Platforms create community capital. They give women access to power, networks and shared learning, which is essential if entrepreneurship is to deliver growth with sustainability," Quadros said.Unlocking Access to FinanceAddressing the capital dimension, Fabio Maeda, Chief Financial Officer of Banco da Amazonia, a Brazilian federal development bank focused on sustainable economic growth in the Amazon region, said, "Improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs requires coordinated action across the ecosystem rather than isolated lending decisions. Banks work on risk and return, but risk can be reduced when governments, financial institutions and platforms act together," Maeda said. "Guarantee mechanisms, partnerships and policy alignment are practical tools to unlock credit for women entrepreneurs without compromising financial discipline."Overcoming Structural BarriersLuhan Vaz, President of Norema Group and Partner at Maius, a global project finance and project advisory firm, said, "Persistent structural barriers prevent women-led enterprises from scaling despite strong fundamentals. Women-led businesses often present stronger, more disciplined projects. The real challenge is access to the right networks and capital. When advisors, investors and partners actively support women founders, scale becomes possible."A Call for Systemic CollaborationThe panel concluded with a shared call for moving beyond pilot programmes and intent-led initiatives toward systemic, scalable collaboration that places women-led enterprises firmly within mainstream economic growth strategies. (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Davos Panel: BRICS CCI Urges Women's Entrepreneurship as Economic Core

Synopsis

Leaders at a WEF Davos panel by BRICS CCI WE and the Govt of Jharkhand declared women's entrepreneurship a core economic strategy. They called for systemic collaboration to unlock growth and build a sustainable economy through women-led enterprises.

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