Chilean biz leaders on mission Delhi

Delhi played host to a high level delegation of women entrepreneurs from Chile last week who are on a visit to India to ‘Link and Learn’ from their counterparts to further improve trade ties, by identifying common markets for business expansion and building networks.

‘Mujeres del Pacifico’ which literally means women of the pacific, is an organisation working under the aegis of the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American Trade Bloc, comprising of Chile, Mexico, Peru and Columbia, led a delegation comprising of 12 women entrepreneurs.

The idea behind the visit is to learn and connect with India and understand the Indian models of enterprise. The delegation has been interacting with various enterprises in India, understanding the first-hand of Indian business models, with a focus to learn innovation and develop business relationships, said CP Srivastava, Indian Coordinator and Director of the India Latin America Associates. 

An interactive session was organised at Civil Services Officers Institute (CSOI), where some of the Ambassadors of the LAC countries, Diplomats, Bureaucrats, Industry champions and Heads of social organizations participated.

Welcoming the guests for the session Dr. Kavita Kapur, President, India Latin America Associates said, “Women entrepreneurs from Latin America can benefit tremendously by utilizing opportunities in India – markets are opening up, low cost resources are available in plenty and finally there is a strong base of innovations”.

The seminar was inaugurated by Prem Das Rai, MP from Lok Sabha, who briefed the delegation about the various initiatives Modi government has undertaken on social and financial inclusion including Jan Dhan Yojana, Make in India, and initiatives on women empowerment like first women bank.

He said, “There has been a tremendous effort at empowering women entrepreneurs in India including setting up MUDRA a bank for small businesses.” Present also was Dammu Ravi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce who said that the IT growth story of the last two decades and the biotechnology growth in the last ten years in India reflects strong fundamentals.

Expansion of trade and travel is bringing India and Latin America closer. Initiatives such as ‘Visa on Arrival’ are encouraging increasing numbers of business persons and tourists to visit India.

A series of robust interactions and presentations are being organised at Embassy of Chile including School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL); Falabella; Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA); Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs of India (CWEI) et al.

An exposure to the inspiring work being done by Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) was also arranged. The delegation visited the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. at Manesar.

A reception was hosted by H.E. Mr. Andrés Barbé, Ambassador of Chile to India at his residence where ambassadors, government officials, industrialists, academicians, and heads of social organisations participated.

Witnessing the Change of Guards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan and taking arounds of the Mughal Gardens, the delegation visited Agra to see the famous archaeological monuments, followed by Bengaluru; they will be travelling to Mumbai during this week.

The visit has already created a lot of buzz in the world of business and civil society and in the social media and diplomatic media.