WEConnect International hosted a premier business summit focused on shaping the future of trade, strengthening resilient economies, and driving sustainable business growth across South Asia. Highlighting South Asia as one of the fastest-growing economic regions, the summit emphasizes immense opportunities for businesses to expand market access, strengthen supply chains, and enhance long-term economic resilience. The event brought together global and regional corporate leaders, women-owned businesses, policymakers, and key stakeholders to explore emerging business opportunities, accelerate supplier development, and build responsible sourcing strategies focused on collaboration and sustainability.
In this summit, Elizabeth A. Vazquez, CEO and Co-founder of WEConnect International, opened the event by highlighting WEConnect's mission to unite and empower women-led enterprises, emphasizing the organization’s pivotal role in driving connections and opportunities for women entrepreneurs. She was followed by Sonu Iyer, People and Leader for the India region, who spoke on the importance of gender equity, the growing focus of government policies on empowering women, and the necessity of financial interventions to improve capital access for women-led businesses, which remains a major foundation for inclusive economic participation. The session then transitioned to an engaging panel discussion on the future of trade and strategies for building resilient supply chains, bringing together expert insights on advancing sustainable growth and women’s leadership across the evolving business landscape.
MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai, celebrating its 55th year, serves as the knowledge partner for the summit. In his keynote speech, Dr. Kalantri, Chairman of MVIRDC WTC Mumbai, underscores the center’s ongoing commitment to skill development and empowering MSMEs. He highlights that India has nearly 2 crore women entrepreneurs and a workforce of just 20% in manufacturing, 80% in electronics, and stresses the need for broader engagement of women across all sectors. Dr. Kalantri notes that by 2047, India aims to become a $40 trillion economy, with a high chance that women entrepreneurs will likely emerge as key leaders driving this growth.
He further points out significant shifts in policies supporting women’s economic empowerment, referring to initiatives by the RBI and women-led enterprises in finance, pharma, and technology sectors. Emphasizing the importance of increasing women’s participation in enterprise leadership, he assures continued support from WE Connect and MVIRDC WTC Mumbai to create enabling environments for entrepreneurs. The speech highlights the importance of a call to move from strategic thinking to operations to delivery, ensuring entrepreneurs lead the transformation of South Asia’s economic landscape.