Women entrepreneurs at the ‘WENN Social 1.0’ event in The Fitness House Café, Dimapur on August 13.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 13
The need to reframe ‘networking’ as a concept that transcends mere exchange of business cards and brochures at business conclaves, was highlighted at the ‘WENN Social 1.0’ event in Dimapur on Saturday.
Organised by the Women Entrepreneurs Network Nagaland (WENN), women entrepreneurs from various parts of the state came together to deliberate and identify the needs of women entrepreneurs in Nagaland and by extension, chart out a plan of activities and interventions that can help build a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Along these lines, the discussions began with experience-sharing among the entrepreneurs.
While several issues including logistical challenges, especially for those who cater to markets outside the state, were brought up for discussion, some of the key issues that stood out were lack of mentorship, inadequate support systems, and limited financial literacy.
In terms of mentorship and guidance, several members recounted the startup phase of their enterprises and noted that most of what they learned were by ‘trial and error,’ as they had no mentors to seek advice and guidance from. The lack of mentorship likely stems from the fact that most Nagas are first generation entrepreneurs, they noted, while adding the need for WENN to facilitate mentorship programmes in the future.
Another issue identified over the course of discussions was the lack of a proper support system, especially for women whose needs and requirements differ from that of their male counterparts in many ways.
Towards this, core member of WENN Sumiho Aye, a social entrepreneur and Founder of Grassroots Empowerment NGO, said that the network was conceptualised with the objective of creating an ‘ecosystem of learning’ and a safe space for Nagaland’s women entrepreneurs and women business owners. She underscored that WENN would work towards transcending the conventional idea that ‘networking’ is limited to mere exchange of contact details and pamphlets in hopes of making market linkages and attracting investors or customers for their enterprises.
Aye and other members further articulated that a WhatsApp group and other social media platforms have been set up for members to share their opinions, challenges, etc.
Among others, the loss of expansion opportunities, collaborative offers and other such prospects due to limited financial literacy as well as business compliance was also underlined during the discourse.
Members underlined that concepts like GST compliance or even filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) are fairly new within the context of businesses in Nagaland. This, they said, has impacted their expansion prospects as investors or people seeking to collaborate with them, are abandoned due to non-compliance. It was also highlighted that many entrepreneurs register their establishments in the wrong category, thereby unknowingly missing out on schemes and benefits that are available to them.
Interestingly, members also drew attention to the lack of reliable professionalism and work culture among Naga youth. As entrepreneurs, we want to create jobs because the unemployment rate in the state is very high, but most employees lack consistency and tend to resign from their jobs or simply do not show up to work after a month or two, the pointed out.
Addressing these issues, Ovi K Yeptho, head of Partnerships and Programming at Dhriiti, affirmed that various programmes to address the gaps would be initiated in the coming months.
WENN was formally launched in April 2022, by GIZ India’s Project Her&Now, with Dhriiti-The Courage Within, its implementation partner in north east India.
But despite being at a nascent stage, Ovi emphasised that the main objective of WENN is to nurture the network into an accessible platform that would not only served as a strong support system but also cater to capacity building and impact policy decisions that would benefit women entrepreneurs. Toward this end, she mentioned that the Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) has come forward to support the Network.
She also informed that Her&Now: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, IDAN, Dhriiti, and NuSocia are working on a policy brief which will incorporate inputs from such sessions and consultations over the course of time.
The core members of WENN include Zakietsono Jamir, Nengneithem Hengna, Kewengule Therie, Alemjungla Jamir, Vekutholu Vero, Sumiho Aye, Thungchanbeni Tungoe, Regina Chakrunuo, Loni Khing, and Ella Mary.
There are 58 members registered with the Network at present.
