Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Global Project- 'Changing The Status Quo'

Online, February 29, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Goldman Sachs launched their 10,000 Women programme in 2008 with the promise of a five-year investment of $ 100 million. 10,000 Women is a five-year initiative to provide a business and management education to underserved female entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets. The program is designed to drive greater shared economic growth, leading to stronger healthcare, education and greater prosperity in the communities where it operates. This global initiative engages women from Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. It is based on a widely-held belief that women entrepreneurs can build more prosperous families and communities.

It has partnered with more than 75 institutes worldwide to empower 10,000 underserved female entrepreneurs with a business and management education. Seven of those 75 institutes belong to the famous Ivy League in the United States. Academic partners include: Harvard Business School; the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Fundação Getulio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas; University of Oxford, Saïd Business School; the Indian School of Business; and Tsinghua University of School of Economics and Management. Other partners include Ashoka, TechnoServe, Vital Voices, Women for Women International, and the International Center for Research on Women."

BIMTECH has associated with ISB, Hyderabad under the Goldman Sachs 10,000 women global project, under which, BIMTECH will impart training in management skills to women entrepreneurs of UP and NCR. The training is completely funded for the selected women entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs, i.e. the training is completely free for the participants.

So far, 300 women in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune have successfully completed this 16 week world class programme. At the end of her academic stint, Anagha, who is in the Packaging industry, says, "The major change I made in my business after attending 10,000 Women, was to revisit my strategy." Strategy? Well, yes. To be successful in a business, however big or small, you do need a business strategy. And that is taught to the 10,000 Women as part of their curriculum.

Today, these 300 ladies are better organizers, negotiators and managers. They are able to number crunch and allocate funds efficiently. "The 10,000 Women programme has helped me develop my business," says Divya Krishna, who, very unusually, heads her printing business. Armed with a new confidence that comes with knowledge, she continues, "I was taught these great negotiation skills. After the programme, I made changes in my processes and installed new machinery, and started making new kinds of labels. I now see things in the broader sense. In this male dominated industry I was among the first to employ women. I now provide paid maternity leave," she says, proud to be a woman.

Professor Abha Rishi of BIMTECH is the Programme Director in BIMTECH for this initiative. "The 10,000 Women students are offered mentoring and support throughout the program and sometimes beyond," she says, reiterating her support to 10,000 Women.

"Students enrol in locally designed certificate programs ranging from five weeks to six months that include courses such as marketing, accounting, market research, writing a business plan, strategic planning, accessing capital, and e-commerce. These programs are culturally appropriate, flexible, and shorter-term. They are intended to help open doors for thousands of women whose financial and practical circumstances would normally prevent them from receiving a traditional business education," added Dr A Sahay, Chairperson, CIED and the Academic Lead for this program.

"This kind of investment can have a significant impact on GDP growth. Research also suggests that such an investment in women can have a significant multiplier effect that leads not only to increased revenues and more employees for businesses, but also healthier, better educated families, and ultimately more prosperous communities. BIMTECH has always believed in gender inclusiveness and this was one way in which we could reach out and serve the women of UP," Dr. H. Chaturvedi, Director, BIMTECH says.

This programme is meant for women. A woman is the nurturer of a family. She is the one on whose shoulders lie the responsibilities of a wife, a mother and a business woman. The hand that rocks the cradle can now also run a successful business. 10,000 Women reinforced the faith that the 300 Indian women had in themselves. They knew they could do it. Goldman Sachs, ISB and BIMTECH showed them how.

The highlights of this program in BIMTECH have been:

Information outreach to all leading agencies in UP and NCR, dealing with entrepreneurs
DIC willing to associate for 11 locations in UP
35 women selected for first batch
First batch rolling on Jan 14, 2012
Future batches planned in Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut

http://bimtech.ac.in