About Women Entrepreneurs in the City

In recent years, Guwahati has seen a surge of women entrepreneurs and many of them are striving to make inroads into the national market. Saturday Fare spoke to Wommaniaas- an all women national networking platform founded by Divya Siotia, Nupur Agarwalla and Neeta Sharma to support the women entrepreneurs of the city.

What was the inspiration behind starting Wommaniaas?

Simply stated, the philosophy with which we founded this networking platform was that when women support each other they can surmount all obstacles and create incredible work.

At one level, this networking platform is an exhaustive list of startups and established businesses (women run). While the startups leverage this platform to garner visibility and more clients for their products and services for the established players, Wommaniaas is a place for new learnings and insights (business-wise) that in turn helps them to grow their footprint. Therefore, Wommaniaas, founded in 2021 envisages apprising women about opportunities in the entrepreneurial landscape of the region on one hand and encouraging them in their chosen entrepreneurial journey on the other.

What will you say is the differentiating factor of Wommaniaas?

Starting any entrepreneurial venture requires one to be conversant with the operating ecosystem. For instance, if someone wants to start a specialized packaging (food and beverage) system for cafes and restaurants she needs to know the cafes and restaurants that her in her vicinity, the kind of clientele they cater to and the specific food and beverage offerings, among other things. In other words, to start any entrepreneurial venture it is necessary to know the basic 'operational know how'. Wommaniaas recognizes this need and has a one stop solution by way of a page called Mommies of Guwahati 777(with about 23 k followers) that is translating to a bridge between buyers and sellers both within the B2C and B2B segments. In other words, Mommies of Guwahati 777 is a place where entrepreneurs (and aspiring entrepreneurs) can post what they want and what they can offer.

Also as a platform Wommaniaas is closely aligned with end customer expectations. The inherent listing mechanism in terms of products and services facilitates comparison of prices and other attributes that customers are interested in. For example there are more than 10 services/players within the cloud kitchen segment at the moment. They are all clubbed within one bucket and customers can compare rates and reviews before deciding who to order from.

What is the overarching vision of Wommaniaas?

We are in the process of developing an app through which women entrepreneurs in Wommaniaas can make inroads to every nook and corner of the country. It shall also facilitate collaborations with women entrepreneurs from other places of India. Providing timely and relevant trainings to raise the bars of doing business is another prerogative.

Any observations in terms of the entrepreneurial culture of women in Assam

We have a simple but a very real observation. The North East is filled with untapped talent and budding entrepreneurs are still looking for opportunities to showcase their talent.

What is your advice to women entrepreneurs of the region?

There is literally no substitute for hard work. In order to be successful, one should set a goal and then work towards achieving it. We believe that if one truly wishes to achieve something and works for it wholeheartedly; the vision shall surely turn to a reality.

How does one become a member of Wommaniaa?

We have a App named "Wommaniaas" available for download in Android and Apple. One can download and register through it. Once the payment and registration process is completed the membership is approved. The member then features on the app and is given access to connect and post in various platforms. The City Head and City In-charge assists this process. One can also connect through our Website https://wommaniaasonline.com/

Q What are some of the major entrepreneurial areas that women in your network operate in?

Wommaniaas has members from various fields. Cloud kitchens, bakeries, hospitals, preschools, hotels these are just a few places that the women entrepreneurs hail from. Fashion designers, accessory designers, coaches, jewellery designers and retailers, event managers, financial advisors and even electronic manufacturers feature prominently on the network.

Also Read: Going Slow is the way forward towards making North East the Organic Capital of India

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