Women on Wings is opening an office in Delhi. On May 1, 2013, the existing team of four Indian consultants in Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai will be joined by two Dutch experts. Women on Wings hopes to double the number of jobs each year, which means 50,000 new jobs for women in rural India in 2013. A stronger local presence will allow Women on Wings to intensify the advisory services it offers to rural Indian companies. Employment opportunities for rural women will be stimulated by economic growth in general and the opening of the Indian market to foreign retailers in particular.
Local reinforcement
Women on Wings co-founder Ellen Tacoma: “Ronald van het Hof (55) is an experienced manager in the field of retail, marketing and management and has been advising Women on Wings clients for five years now. Ineke Bezembinder (52) is the office manager for Women on Wings. Together with our Indian consultants, they will form our Indian Office and strengthen our relationship with local companies. In this way, they can respond to the latest developments as they happen, which the traditional Indian work method demands.”
Growing retail market
Co-founder Maria van der Heijden adds: “The goal is to support Indian clients on a local and personal level in terms of consultancy and advice. We see enormous growth potential in the number of jobs offered by three of our clients (Jharcraft, Fabric Plus and Jaipur Rugs), who demand frequent contact and visits. India has 1.2 billion people and a growing middle class. The retail market is also growing and there’s a huge sales market for the products and services these companies offer. This development makes it possible for us to achieve our goal of creating one million jobs. By strengthening our presence in India, we are stimulating job growth for rural women.”
50 experts and over 60,000 jobs
Women on Wings is a Dutch organization that strives to improve the economic position of Indian women. Dutch and Indian experts share their knowledge and skills free of charge by temporarily committing themselves to an Indian company and jointly seeking out appropriate and realistic business models together with local parties. Women on Wings currently has fifty experts in fifteen Indian organizations. The organization is not subsidized, which means all efforts are entirely voluntary. This is why such international companies and organizations as AkzoNobel, DHL, Rabobank, Hyva Group and Cordaid are happy to support them reach their goal. By the end of 2012, five years after its foundation, Women on Wings had successfully created 51,300 jobs for Indian women. At present (April 2013), the counter is at 60,400 jobs. If these figures continue to double each year, Women on Wings will reach their goal of creating over one million jobs within the next five years.
