REPORT ON FORGING LINKS LEVERAGING NETWORKS REACHING OUT AT Sir MV HALL, FKCCI on

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017.

eMERG-Engineering Manufacturers Entrepreneurs Resource Group is a not for profit organization

which was founded in 2006 as the brain child of seven enterprising women to provide a platform for

networking of women in engineering, technology and services. Based in Bangalore, eMERG has

been focusing on providing training to women entrepreneurs to build up their skills and capabilities.

Although the NGO serves as a platform for women in engineering, technology and services, the

deeper aim of the organization is to provide training to the rural unemployed, re-skilling urban

employed as well as unemployed women and men, so that they can further hone their skills and

capabilities which would improve their business acumen. The members at eMERG have wide

experience in enterprise management and have a burning desire to give something back to the

society, so as to contribute to the economic growth and viability of our society.

Every year, eMERG has its flagship event, entitled Celebration of Womanhood, which salutes the

spirit on women’s entrepreneurship. This year, the event was conducted in a mega scale under the

name Forging Links, Leveraging Networks, Reaching Out 2017 at the Sir MV Hall, FKCCI, Bangalore.

Aims of the event:

- To provide a networking platform for women entrepreneurs, women managers and women

professionals to interact, share and learn.

- To empower women to be part of mainstream business.

- To bring forward the initiatives taken by the Government of Karnataka and the large

corporate companies like INTEL for encouraging women entrepreneurs.

- To provide women entrepreneurs and professionals some insights on Marketing and Scaling

Up.

The PROGRAM:

PROGRAM DETAILS FLLN 2017

14 SEPTEMBER 2017

9.00. AM

REGISTRATION

9.30 AM INAUGURATION CHIEF GUEST- MR SANTOSH LAD, HONORABLE MINISTER FOR LABOR, Govt of Karnataka GUEST OF HONOR - MS RATNAPRABHA, ACS, GOK MR GOWRISHANKAR, SR MANAGER , INTEL MR K.RAVI, PRESIDENT, FKCCI

11.30 AM

BREAK

11.45 AM

FORGING LINKS- -GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN KARNATAKA MR BK SHIVAKUMAR, MD KUM, MR AC SAHU, GM SIDBI MR SRIVATSAN , AGM NSIC -VENDOR DIVERSITY INITIATIVES FROM THE CORPORATES SECTOR MR GOWRISHANKAR, SR MANAGER , PURCHASING, GREATER ASIA, INTEL

1.00PM LUNCH

2.00PM LEVERAGING NETWORKS- BRANDING AND SELF MARKETING EXPERTS DR NAVEEN D KINI, CONSULTANT PEDIATRICIAN MS BHAVNA TOOR, CONSULTANT, SHENOMICS DR H MURALIDHARAN, DEAN MSRIMS

3.15PM REACHING OUT- SCALING UP, AND INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION EXPERTS MS SHUBHA GANESH, FOUNDER, MONEYSHIKSHA MS ANJAN VIVEK ,DIRECTOR, VENTUREBEAN MS GEETA RAMAMURTHY, CEO,GIGA INNOVATION CENTER MR JEFFREY RAKESH, Executive and Leadership Coach, ATHENA ACADEMIA CORP SOLUTIONS

4.30PM BREAK

5.00PM VALEDICTORY AND AWARDS CEREMONY CHIEF GUEST- MS BHARATHI SHANKAR, CHAIRPERSON, KSWDC GUEST OF HONOR MS RATNAPRABHA ACS, GOK MR HANUMANTHE GOWDA R, PRESIDENT KASSIA

INAUGURATION

The program began with an invocation by Ms Nalini who set the tone for the day with her melodious

voice. The President, Ms Rajalakshmi began the deliberations for the day by a speech of welcome to

the dignitaries, guests, partner associations and delegates. As the 3rd edition of FLLN, the event for

the day had been planned with the idea of ensuring a good take home message for all the delegates

present at the venue. The Secretary, Dr Sumitha Nayak elaborated about the thoughts and work that

went into planning the day’s events. This was followed by the detailing of the various activities of

eMERG by the Founder President, Ms Uma Reddy. She spoke about the proposed Centre for

Excellence, which has been planned by eMERG. There was an exchange of Memorandam of

Understanding between MS Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies and Ms Giga Systems, who

would be knowledge partners for the Centre of Excellence.

Lighting of the Lamp with Mr.Santhosh Lad, Ms.Ratna Prabha, Mr.Ravi., Mr.Gowrishankar, Ms.Rupa

Rani, Ms.Uma Reddy, Ms.R Rajalakshmi, Ms.Rekha Gopal & Dr.Sumitha Nayak

Welcome speech by Ms.R Rajalakshmi, President

Dr.Sumitha, Secretary elaborated about the event

Ms.Uma Reddy, Founder President spoke about future directions

Exchange of Memorandum

All the dignitaries lit the lamp which is the symbol of knowledge and an auspicious beginning to the

program. The delegates held up their lamps together, which created an ethereal aura to the hall.

The Guest of Honor Ms Ratnaprabha, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka

elaborated about the initiatives of the Government of Karnataka to encourage women

entrepreneurs. She urged the women associations to work together and make an impact in the work

place. Mr K. Ravi, President FKCCI and Mr Gowrishankar, Sr Manager Purchasing, INTEL made brief

statements extending the support of their organizations to the cause of encouraging women

entrepreneurs.

The Hon’ble Minister of Labour, Mr Santosh Lad was the Chief Guest at the event. As a businessman

by profession, he extolled the delegates to face all the challenges that come up during the course of

business. He congratulated eMERG for conducting an event of this magnitude, that brought together

women from different fields of work and business on one platform. He urged the women to make

use of all the facilities provided by the government. He mentioned that Bangalore leads the state in

the number of women owned businesses. However, he felt that these initiatives must be extended

to the women entrepreneurs at the district level. The Hon’ble Minsiter did the honors of releasing

the eMERG Souvenir that was prepared for the event. He also released “ eMERG Speaks” , the

quarterly newsletter of the association.

Release of Souvenir

Release of Newsletter

At the end of the Inaugural ceremony, Ms Rekha Gopal, the Vice President of eMERG extended a

vote of thanks to all who had attended and supported the event.

Vote of Thanks by Ms.Rekha Gopal, Vice-President

FORGING LINKS

Government initiatives for women entrepreneurs in Karnataka

This was a panel discussion to showcase the various opportunities that are currently available for

women entrepreneurs. Mr A C Sahu, GM, SIDBI discussed the schemes that are available for

women. Mr Shivakumar of KUM elaborated on the many opportunities for trade fairs and business

development that have been made available for the government of Karnataka. Mr Srivatsan, AGM

NSIC talked about the schemes for the small scale industries that are available, along with the

training programs that are periodically held. Ms Uma Reddy, Founder President eMERG steered the

discussions to elicit the appropriate responses from the panelists.

Panel Discussion: Government initiatives by Mr.Shivakumar, Mr.A C Sahu, Mr.Srivatsan with Ms.Uma

Reddy, Founder President.

Vendor Diversity Initiatives from the Corporate Sector

Ms Rajalakshmi, President eMERG introduced the speaker for this session. Mr Gowrishankar, the

Senior Manager Purchasing, Greater Asia , INTEL delivered the address. The vision of INTEL was

discussed and their program of “20 million by 2020” was highlighted in his talk. He congratulated

eMERG for conducting an event like FLLN , year on year, which was extremely beneficial to all

women who attended it.

Panel Discussion – Vendor Diversity Initiatives from the Corporate Sector Mr.Gowrishankar,

Sr.Manager, INTEL with Ms.R Rajalakshmi, President

LEVERAGING NETWORKS

The post lunch session was begun by a brief congratulatory statement by Ms Lauren Lovelace,

Consul for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Consulate General Chennai.

Congratulatory statement by Ms Lauren Lovelace

The session focused on Branding and Self Marketing for professionals and entrepreneurs. Dr

Naveen Kini, Pediatrician described the various methods of digital access and appointment

scheduling which have helped him in his practice. He also talked about the importance of

networking and staying connected to the customers and patients. Ms Bhavna Toor CEO of

SHENOMICS gave a practical demonstration of Mindful Leadership, wherein she made the

participants experience the thoughts and sensations of the present moment. Dr H Muralidharan ,

Dean MSRIM enlightened the audience about the various methods adopted in developing MS

Ramaiah as a brand. By asking pertinent questions, Dr Sumitha, Secretary eMERG, moderated the

session and ensured the audience connected with the discussions and derived a take home message

from each panelist.

Panel Discussion: Branding and Self Marketing by Dr.Naveen Kini, Dr.H Muralidharan, Ms Bhavana

Toor with Moderator Dr.Sumitha Nayak, Secretary.

REACHING OUT

This session was moderated by Ms Vidhya Treasurer, Emerg and focused on the needs of Scaling up

a business. As an interactive session, Ms Shubha Ganesh of Moneyshiksha took the help of a case

that gave the audience an opportunity to think about the finance needs for scaling up. Ms Anjana

Vivek, Director Venturebean, discussed about the Business Strategy and provided insights into the

requirements which will aid business growth. Ms Geetha Ramamurthy , CEO Giga Innovation centre

emphasized the need to stay focused and develop a marketing strategy. Mr Jeffrey Rakesh of Athena

Academia Corp explained the differences between incremental and exponential growth that would

also define growth hacking.

Panel Discussion: Scaling up a business by Ms.Anjana Vivek, Ms.Shubha Ganesh, Ms Geetha

Ramamurthy, Mr.Jeffrey Rakesh with Moderator Ms.Vidhya Vinay, Treasurer.

VALEDICTORY AND WOMEN ACHIEVER AWARDS

This segment of the program began with a summation of the day’s events by Ms Vidhya, Treasurer

eMERG.

The Women Achiever Awards is an annual ceremony in which eMERG recognizes the efforts of

women in various fields of business and profession. These women were recognized for their work as

Woman Entrepreneur of the year, Social Entrepreneur, Green Entrepreneur, Start Up Entrepreneur

of the Year, Student Entrepreneur, and Women Professionals. Two women engineers from BMRCL

were honored this year, for their exemplary work and dedication.

Women Achiever Awards presented by Mr.Rangaprasad

Ms Bharati Shankar, Chairperson KSWDC delivered the Valedictory Address. She urged the women to

take bold steps and move ahead at their workplace. She mentioned the support offered by KSWDC

to help women entrepreneurs. The program ended with a vote of thanks extended by Ms Sridevi, Jt

Secretary eMERG.

Vote of Thanks by Ms.Sridevi Kalyan, Jt. Secretary

eMERG members with the dignitaries and awardees

Stalls and Business interaction

10 stalls were available for women business owners to display their products. The women found an

opportunity to showcase their products and conduct some business sales.

Hon’ble Minister, Mr Santosh Lad visiting the stalls set up by women entrepreneurs

FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM PARTICIPANTS

*Panel Discussion 1 – Government Initiatives & Corporate Policy

*Panel Discussion 2 - Branding and Self Marketing for professionals and entrepreneurs

*Panel Discussion 3 – Scaling up a Business

The Feedback of the event throws invaluable light on the audience impact.. While the majority of

the participants (88%) felt the entire program was excellent, a little over half of them felt that the

content could be termed as excellent. The panel discussions had mixed reactions. The first panel

evinced an excellent response in 66% , while 17% each felt it was good and satisfactory. The second

panel discussion was most appreciated by the participants as categorized excellent by 88% and good

by 12%. The third panel discussion was rated excellent by half the participants while 37% felt it was

good and 12% felt it was satisfactory. This feedback is an important tool that can be utilized while

planning the future programs.

62 57 63 66

88

50

88

38 43 37 17

12

37

12 17 13

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Satisfactory

Good

Excellent

Way Forward

The event was conducted with much coordination amongst the committee members. This has

helped in developing useful bonds for future work , and needs to be leveraged for all

future eMERG activities.

The registrations for the event needs to be boosted up much before the last minute. An intense

advertising campaign will be useful. This must be developed and circulated well in advance

of the due date.

The matter for the souvenir is available only a few hours before the event. This must be reworked

and all the committee members need to contribute to this in terms of getting the matter

together well in advance.

FLLN 2017 serves as a good platform to network and develop contacts. Apart from this, it also

serves as a podium to develop leadership skills amongst all involved in the planning and

execution of the event.

The Feedback of the event throws invaluable light on the audience impact. This is an important

tool that can be utilized to enhance the future performances.