At a time when women entrepreneurs are proving their mettle as entrepreneurs, International Conference on ‘Empowering Women Entrepreneurs from the Grassroots to Global was just apt to impart all the necessary push to their entrepreneurial spirit. EDII organized an International conference on the subject, on 24th and 25th February 2022 under sponsorship support of Ministry of MSME (IC Section) Govt. of India. The Conference was attended by more than 800 industry practitioners, researchers, and educators.

It was modelled on the premise that women are at the core of society, and their capabilities can well be shaped to make them credible drivers of the economy as entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurship denotes an essential engine of socio-economic growth for developing countries as it has a leading role in generating prolific work, achieving gender equality, and reducing poverty. Against this backdrop, plenary sessions were organized focussing on Opportunities and Reorientation of Business during the Pandemic Time; Transforming Homemakers into Entrepreneurs; Challenges and Solutions for Women Entrepreneurs in the MSME Sector; Inspiring and Supporting Women at the Grassroots to Rise to the Next Level; Women Entrepreneurship and the MSME Sector and Gender related Bias or Stereotypes that Hinder Entrepreneurship.

At the inauguration of the Conference, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General – EDII mentioned, “Women entrepreneurship has rightly gained prominence in the recent years with many women stepping forth to test their mettle. Promoting women entrepreneurship will assume significant relevance in the context of poverty alleviation, elimination of gender bias and inclusive development. Alongside probing the important indicators that can enhance the incidence of women entrepreneurship; this conference will also delve into policy frameworks to ensure a positive impact on the ecosystem for women entrepreneurship.”

The conference had adopted a blended mode with around 700 national & 109 international participants joining online and 100 national & 7 international attending offline. Around 63 research papers were presented over the two days.