The Women on Wings Social Impact Summit brought together 102 guests at Le Meridien, New Delhi, on Tuesday February 11, 2020. The Summit focused on entrepreneurship and the importance of partnerships, and how technology can support companies to scale.
Partnership for the Goals
Keynote speaker was Ellen Tacoma, co-founder of Women on Wings, who talked about the importance of collaboration and shared how the Women on Wings concept came about in 2007. Anneke Adema, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, also addressed the audience, stressing the importance of empowering women and fighting inequalities. The Dutch Embassy in New Delhi is a loyal supporter of the Women on Wings work. Guests at the Social Impact Summit were a mix of social entrepreneurs, finance-, market – and support providers, plus the Women on Wings team. All guests believe in the power of collaboration to create change and, through their individual work, contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Finance partners in panel
In a panel session, four panelists looked at how the Women on Wings online community platform members could benefit from their organizations, and the other way around. EXIM Bank of India, which also partly sponsored the Summit and is one of the Finance partners on the platform, works with many small and midsized social enterprises that Women on Wings also focuses on. Caspian Impact Investment Adviser Limited is another Finance partner on the platform. Women on Wings already successfully partnered with both Finance partners before the online community was developed.
Market partner onboarded
How mentorship by Women on Wings can positively impact social entrepreneurs was explained by Anjali Singh, Founder and CEO at Jute Artisans Guild Association. She has been partnering with Women on Wings since July 2018 and frequently requested for workshops. Said Anjali during the panel discussions: “Women on Wings brings so much, in a constructive, focused and fun way. I never could believe that an international organization like this, would be supporting and guiding me.” Expert at Women on Wings Danielle Pels shared that the new Women on Wings community platform will certainly help her and other experts in communicating with the partners and will further add to the professionalization of the Women on Wings partners.
Sharing is multiplying
The Social Impact Summit saw a wide variety of topics. Three Women on Wings experts shared their knowledge of impact investing, online marketing and positioning & branding in masterclasses. Two successful Women on Wings business partners, Action Center for Transformation and GoCoop – an online marketplace, shared their journeys of the why, how and what of their enterprises and how partnering with Women on Wings has helped them scale their businesses and develop their organizations. Both enterprises see the importance of sharing and connecting, and therefore have registered on the Women on Wings online community platform.
