India’s women entrepreneurs

YEGAP
By Anna Marie Periquet

If there is one entrepreneur I look forward to seeing during our annual YEGAP conferences, it is my dear colleague from India, Mukta Nandini Jain, the Chairman of the Women Entrepreneurs Council of Asia Pacific. Mukta is full of optimism and hope for entrepreneurs, in general, and women entrepreneurs, in particular. Her passion for the cause of women entrepreneurs goes beyond dreaming, as she transforms every dream into a reality. In her own words, she tells us to dream beyond what is possible.

Dream beyond what is possible

By Mukta Nandini Jain

We need to dream beyond what is possible.

Every day somewhere, somehow, the ubiquitous glass ceiling is continuously being broken. Sometimes, the women who conquer unexpected challenges make headlines; often, they find themselves steering a course or cause with no acclaim or recognition. In whichever manner, they still manage to change the way other more ordinary women think and act.

There is no such thing as a glass ceiling—just look up and you will find a clear and open sky. The limitation is self made. Let me share with you a simple story of Santosini who comes from a remote village of Orissa in eastern India. India is known for disaster stories of farmers. More often than not returns are very low. Farmers have to sell paddy at throwaway prices. Santosini was just a simple housewife in just a similar poverty stricken situation. She chose to take her life in her hands because she believed she could make things happen. She had read about medicinal plants. She visited farms in other parts of India; all were doing what she also wanted to do. Now she was even more convinced about its workability. By investing INR 3 Lakhs (approximately US$7500) in her 3.5 acres of land, she made a reasonable margin, thus encouraging her to take the next step forward. She had the wisdom to take on lease 15 acres of farmland belonging to other farmers and also had the courage to take a loan of INR 35 Lakhs (US$90,000) from Andhra Bank.

[Editor’s note: INR means “India New Rupee.” Lakh is 100,000. So 3 lakhs are 300,000.]

She seriously started the cultivation of a wide variety of medicinal plants. In the first year itself she repaid INR 20 Lakhs (US$50,000). She was comfortable and farsighted to use time tested organic- traditional fertilizers like cow dung—neem and chicken wastes. Today she is a role model for other farmers and employs 50 persons. She is a true woman entrepreneur and now has ventured into trading and consulting. We salute her entrepreneurial skill. “Good things don’t happen—we have to make them happen.” Listen to your heart and follow your dreams.

Let me share with you a few of the scientific information on why women are not only the fairer gender, but also the superior gender. Allan and Barbara Peace, authors of “Why

Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps,” thank nature because “women are born with wider peripheral vision than men.” A woman has brain software that allows her to receive an arc of at least 45 degree clear vision to each side of her head above and below her nose. Men’s brains, on the other hand, are pre-wired for hunting, which is why they see a much narrower field, focusing on what is directly ahead of them. Women are always more tactful while assigning tasks and attempt to ‘bond’ with who they are writing to. E-mail by women also tend to be more polite than those typed by the boys, says a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India.

A typical morning in every woman’s life usually goes something like this: brush your teeth, answer the phone, take down a number, prepare or organize breakfast, get kids, yourself and husband ready all at once. Nokia’s recent global online survey revealed “women are better at multitasking than men.” We always knew that, not only are we better we are marvels at multitasking.

Women tend to use more parts of their brains to accomplish tasks. Rober Doll, President and Chief Investment officer at Merrill Lynch Investment Management US, says “While all investors make mistakes, women make fewer mistakes and are less likely to repeat the same mistakes.” So is it any wonder that women are doing better at the stock market and heading several banks as well?

According to a study conducted over several years and covering over 900 managers from a wide range of companies, women managers in 28 out of 31 outperformed males. From producing high quality work, goal-setting, mentoring employees, to managerial skill areas, women tend to think through decisions better than men. “Women get high ratings on exactly those skills needed to succeed in the global information age, where teamwork and partnering are so important,” Havard Business School

Professor Rosabeth Moss Kauter said.

Today the world is asking all of you to give;
Your hands are soft yet capable;
Remember where you came from;
But never lose sight of where you are going.
Be modern and modest;
Fashionable yet family oriented;
Cling to your traditions lightly but never be afraid of change.
Today is ours, yours and mine.
I leave you with all this to think and act upon till the next time.