FICCI FLO, under the leadership of National President Ms. Poonam Sharma, in collaboration with the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Foundation, hosted IWEC South East Asia Meet, focusing on bringing global women entrepreneurs, changemakers, and leaders together to celebrate women-led entrepreneurship.
On November 06, a welcome dinner was hosted for the IWEC delegates and the FLO members at The Lalit, New Delhi. It served as a networking session, focusing on promoting international partnerships and women’s economic empowerment. On November 07, a leadership conclave, the IWEC South East Asia Meet, took place at the FICCI Federation House. This discussion fostered collaboration among the attendees and celebrated women-led enterprise.
The event was graced by the presence of speakers, Ms. Ibukun Awosika, President, IWEC, Dr. Rajneesh, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, Ms. Harjinder Kaur Talwar, Past President FLO and Board member, IWEC Foundation, and Ms. Rashmi Sarita, Executive Director, FLO. Also, the previous IWEC awardees were present at the meet to encourage more women to start and scale their enterprises.
FLO President, Ms. Poonam Sharma, delivered a powerful speech on FICCI FLO’s contribution towards developing women-led MSMEs in India. She added, “We at FICCI FLO support women entrepreneurs from various sectors through initiatives focused on mentorship, funding access, skill development, and policy advocacy.
Our chapters across India have conducted Udyam registration workshops, awareness events, and capacity-building programmes for women MSMEs.”
Ms. Ibukun Awosika’s address was both empowering and memorable at the IWEC South East Asia Meet. She shared inspiring stories and discussed robust strategies with attendees about building successful women-led enterprises in India. The presence of all IWEC delegates celebrated the spirit of global entrepreneurship.
Dr. Rajneesh led an interactive session by talking about the successes and challenges of Indian MSMEs. He added that India’s MSME sector has more than 63 million enterprises. Only 20% are women-owned enterprises, which include 13 million women-led MSMEs.
According to Dr. Rajneesh, women-led MSMEs have a lot of potential that is still untapped. He interacted with the women entrepreneurs and emphasized the need to tackle challenges, such as access to finance, market linkages, mentorship, and digital capability.
Ms. Harjinder Kaur Talwar called India a global powerhouse at the IWEC-FICCI FLO conference 2025. As global vice chair and board member of IWEC Foundation, Ms. Talwar highlighted the contribution of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in transforming India’s global standing. IWEC South East Asia Meet concluded with an engaging B2B Exchange and a Gala Celebration.
FICCI FLO is a proud founding board member of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Foundation, a global network connecting women-business-owners across 90+ countries. The organization’s global alliance with the IWEC Foundation facilitates recognition, networking, knowledge exchange, and global market expansion for women entrepreneurs.