FLO Programme with Israel Embassy- “Paving Way for Integration of Women into the World of Entrepreneurship: Best Practices and Tools”

FLO organized an extremely unusual and informative session with women entrepreneurs from Israel on May 17, 2016 at the residence of the Israeli Ambassador in India. Hosted by the Israeli Embassy, the session brought together women entrepreneurs from both the countries for a panel discussion on “Paving Way for Integration of Women into the World of Entrepreneurship: Best Practices and Tools”.

The panelists were – Ms. Anat Bernstein-Reich, Chairperson, Israel-India Chamber of Commerce, Lt. Colonel Ms. Debby Kendli, Ms Marina Naomi Smolyanov, CEO, “Your Stage” and Ms Orly Shay, Designer and performance mentor. Dr. Ora Setter: CEO and Academic Director of Lahav – the Executive Education Center in Tel Aviv University was the moderator.

Ms Ditza Froim, Minister Counsellor, Head of Public Diplomacy, Israel Embassy welcomed the members and played the gracious host, as the spouse of the Ambassador. She said that “Israel and Indian women can work towards enhancing synergies between the two nations and work towards deepening business ties by exploring collaborations, marketing tie-ups etc.”

In her opening remarks, FLO President, Vinita Bimbhet said, “Both India & Israel have worked towards accelerating women participation in the process of economic development by promoting entrepreneurship & professional excellence. FLO would be delighted to explore the possibilities of working jointly towards the common goal of women empowerment. We could also use the common modalities such as capacity building & skill development programmes for women.”

The session was a thought provoking reflection of the challenges faced by women when it comes to donning the hat as entrepreneurs. The stories of trial, tribulations and finally success of these extraordinary Israeli women also resonated with the Indian audience. The key mantra that emerged from the session was that hard work, dedication and tenacity are the key ingredients to success.

The panelists also answered several questions from the audience, from how best to balance the personal and professional life and how to deal with gender biases. The panelists unanimously agreed that women were more capable then men in many ways, in terms of work life balance and multitasking their way ahead.

They also said that having an active support system was essential in overcoming the challenges of work life. The pearls of wisdom that emerged from their stories was that passion, ambition, humility, integrity, hard work, courage cannot be replaced and one must deal with failure positively.