Entrepreneurs of Handicrafts sector of West Bengal on 9th April, 2009 at the Auditorium of West Bengal Handicrafts Fair 2009, Kolkata.

The Seminar was held in association wit the Directorate of Small Scale Enterprises, Government of West Bengal.

The objective of the Seminar was to reach out to the Bottom of Pyramid women entrepreneurs of the districts of West Bengal in the Handicrafts sector, to give them an opportunity to participate in TiE Stree Shakti programme.

Addressing the Seminar, Mr. Paresh Rajda,Director, Rajda Exports & Charter Member,TiE Kolkata spoke about the tremendous value addition to the society through woman entrepreneurship.He felt that women, being excellent managers by nature, could become ideal entrepreneurs, if given the right opportunity, and women entrepreneurship could grow by leaps and bounds. He also cited the examples of SHGs run by women, with particular reference to

Mahila Swarojgar Udyog, Sri Ramkrishna Ashram, Nimpath (Sunderbans). Speaking on the occasion, Mr. A K Talukdar, AGM & Head SME II, State Bank of India informed the participants about the SBI Stree Shakti package. He motivated the women entrepreneurs to come forward to avail of the facilities.He also mentioned about the Artisans? Credit Card, particularly meant for the micro artisans.

The credit card meant release of funds to a maximum of Rs. 2 lakhs for handicrafts people. Mr. Talukdar mentioned about the excellent work done by the Self Help Groups (SHG), with almost 100% women membership, and their good track record and loan sanction and recovery.

Speaking on ?The Journey of a Woman Entrepreneur?, Smt. Reena Dhar of Sarsuna Ankur, an all-woman organisation spoke about her personal experiences in her entrepreneurial venture. She felt that often great entrepreneurial ideas got nipped in the bud, as in her entrepreneurial journey, a woman had to face several difficulties, including economic, cultural and social problems. However, things were changing for the better, she maintained.

Mr. Kuldip Maity, Managing Director, Village Financial Services (P) Ltd, a micro finance organisation for women entrepreneurs spoke about the prospects of Micro Finance for women.

Earlier, the concept of TiE Stree Shakti (TSS) was introduced by Ms. Munmun Banerjee, Associate Director of TiE Kolkata. She mentioned about the objectives of TSS and invited the participants of the Seminar to take part in the competition.

The Seminar invoked much enthusiasm amongst the target audience.