~ Honourable Chief Guest, Smt. K. Kavitha, Member of Parliament, Smt. K. Ratna Prabha, IAS, Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt of Karnataka and Sh. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Ministry of IT, Electronics & Communications, Government of Telangana dedicate programme to the women of India ~
Hyderabad: Diageo in association with The British Council today celebrated the success of The Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YWSEDP) at a dedication event in the presence of the honourable Chief Guest, Smt. K. Kavitha, Member of Parliament, Smt. K. Ratna Prabha, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, and Sh. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Ministry of IT, Electronics & Communications, Government of Telangana. The event also witnessed a high-impact panel discussion on “Women Social Enterprise Ecosystem in India” with participation from eminent panelists. The panel discussed the development of social entrepreneurship in India, its challenges and potential solutions, creating an environment for women social entrepreneurs, the role of public institutions and social enterprises and the successful impact of the two phases of the YWSEDP.
Launched in September 2013, The Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development Programme provided entrepreneurship education by training women Master trainers, and through them trained a larger group of women to become entrepreneurs. The programme also supported and mentored innovative ideas, stemming from the workshops, with the potential to mature as social enterprises. The programme aimed at providing training on practical application and shared learning incorporating content related with management, finance, communication, leadership, marketing, and fundraising.
Speaking about this landmark initiative, Smt. K. Kavitha, Member of Parliament, said, “The need of the hour today is for sustainable solutions that lead to economic growth. I congratulate the British Council and Diageo for identifying the gaps in our society today and empowering women with skills to fill those gaps and become agents of social change.”
Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer, United Spirits said, “The Diageo-British Council programme is designed to change the lives of thousands of women by building capacity for social entrepreneurship for women. Partnership with over 40 grassroots NGOs around the country that work tirelessly to empower women has been an important feature of this programme. The personal stories of the women make for inspiring case studies and strengthen our commitment to this cause.”
As part of new 2020 sustainability and responsibility targets, which include a commitment to ‘Building Thriving Communities’, Diageo has empowered 345,000 women globally since 2012 through the Plan W initiative.
On the conclusion of both phases of the Programme, a critical mass of over 80 Master Trainers in different cities in India cascaded training to over 4300 beneficiaries thereby promoting social entrepreneurship amongst the women in India.
Mei-kwei Barker, Director British Council, South India said, “We are delighted to be gathered here to celebrate the success of the ‘Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development Programme’. Through the support of the partner organisations the programme has actively supported women empowerment and women entrepreneurs across India. The impact case story compendium launched today brings together unique journeys of empowerment, entrepreneurship and leadership taken up by women in their local settings. We are very grateful to Diageo for their support in this programme.”
The British Council leads the programme by providing Master trainers with innovative tools complemented by insights from the global social entrepreneurship scenario. They also provide support and mentoring through partner organisations to clusters of women, for innovative ideas which have potential to convert into a successful social enterprise.
Diageo, United Spirits and the British Council are strongly committed to empower women through social entrepreneurship by nurturing their self-worth and ability to create value for society and stronger communities in the world.