WEF: India's WeLead Lounge & Women Entrepreneurs Shine at Davos

Davos, Jan 18 (PTI) Amid high-octane discussions on conflicts, climate, and cyberspace risks at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, something creating a buzz by word of mouth here in this Swiss ski resort town involves a lounge dedicated to Indian women and two artisans present there -- blue pottery artist Garima Saini from Jaipur and wooden handicraft entrepreneur Shubhi Agrawal of Varanasi.

WeLead Lounge, set by by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to celebrate women leadership in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and apex industry chamber CII, is among those seeing the maximum footfall among nearly 100 lounges and pavilions dotting the main Promenade street of Davos.

Besides the two artisans-cum-entrepreneurs, the lounge features all policies and programmes undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for women.

Asked about the thought process behind setting up this first-of-its-kind lounge at Davos during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, where pavilions or lounges are mostly named after countries, states or companies, Union Minister Smriti Irani told PTI that Prime Minister Modi's governance agenda has centralised the ambitions and aspirations and needs of women in India.

"We are the only country on this Promenade and possibly in the world that has made an economic case and evidenced it about why investments should be done in gender," she said.

Though it was a suggestion of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, this lounge came through a partnership and we asked the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to ensure that it portrays the inclusive and gender agenda of the Indian growth story.

"And indeed I am extremely proud that it has become very pivotal on this Promenade and that it has attracted attention and conversation on investment in gender and health. The Ayushman Bharat Yojana, especially its impact on affordability of healthcare from the perspective of women, has been lauded a lot.

"The prime minister's insistence on ensuring nutritional security of children younger than the age of six has found a cause of celebration here. We have done much and I am glad that today as Indians we are proudly showcasing it," she said.

The minister said it is a matter of pride that the two young ladies, who are second and fourth generation entrepreneurs in craft, have attracted so much attention here.

"The fact that they have exhibited their products here not only is a compliment to their craft but also is a compliment to our sustainability agenda. There are many boxes that we have rightly ticked.

"The fact that they as small entrepreneurs have attracted such attention at the WEF, which people believe is a forum for big industries, India has proven that this Forum can be made available also to young female entrepreneurial potential from India. We have two shining examples here," Irani said.

Talking to PTI, Saini said she is here to represent a unique pottery that is only crafted in Jaipur and it does not use clay.

"Rather, four ingredients of our craft is quartz stone powder, glass powder, katira, saaji, and Multani mitti and then we prepare a dough. Like other potters make their pottery on potter's wheel, we make our pottery in pieces and then join them together, do the finishing by rubbing them on the ground by sandpapering it, then we hand-paint the pottery by using natural metallic oxide colours like cobalt oxide, copper oxide and chromium oxide," she said.

"I call them magic colours because while painting, it looks different but after baking it changes. For example, purple colour changes to dark blue after baking and then we have a reddish colour which changes into light blue. Once we hand-paint all single article, then we go to the next stage, which is glazing and then we bake it at 750-800 degree celsius," she explained excitedly.

Saini, a second-generation artist, said his father is a President-awarded artiste who was given national 'Shilpguru' award and she is taking forward his legal.

"I completed my Master's in International Business and then saw that how this industry needs young entrepreneurs like me to motivate other artists and put their energy in the right direction.

"As Indian handicrafts have a lot of potential, I thought why should we not capitalise on our own 'hast-kalayein' and that's what I am trying to do, making my own way in a world where men are usually taking the lead," she said.

Shubhi Agrawal said she is representing Varanasi, the oldest city in India, in Davos.

"I am the fourth-generation artist taking this wooden handicraft legacy of Varanasi forward. Currently, we are working with more than 300 artisans of which 200 are women. Collectively, we are empowering them and taking the Varanasi wooden art to new heights," she said.

Explaining her work, Agrawal said, "We make it with gular wood which is very light-weight and has a high longevity. Nothing happens to toys made with it for 60-70 years."

"What attracts people most to our dolls, toys and other handicrafts is that they are very colourful. They are handcrafted and hand-painted. Each and every pattern and process is done by hand and every product takes approximately one week to one month to be prepared and there are multiple processes that goes into it."

"I am very happy to be here," she added.

Minister Irani said in addition to changes in social structures and evolutions in the approach of governance, we also need to recognise the financial prowess that has been unleashed for women in India.

"There are programmes like Mudra, where 70 per cent beneficiaries of 400 million are women in terms of loan that was sanctioned.

"We in the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi have made a case where the government steps up to finance the credit needs of women and women-led enterprises. It is now incumbent upon the industry and we are also attracting international investors' attraction towards the Indian female potential in enterprise," Irani said.