GIZ In Association with Vaaka Media Launches a Podcast of and for India’s Women Entrepreneurs

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The three-episode podcast series reveals the inspiring journey and experiences of women entrepreneurs associated with ‘Project Her&Now’ -- a flagship project implemented across India by GIZ

New Delhi, 28th April 2021: International development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) has launched a podcast series in collaboration with Vaaka Media; the 3-episode podcast titled “Founders: A Her&Now Podcast” reveals the real-life tales of five women entrepreneurs running diverse business ventures in three different parts of our country, i.e. Telangana, Rajasthan, and the North-East.

This one-of-its-kind podcast series narrates the entrepreneurship journeys, celebrates successes and failures as well as discusses at length a plethora of socio-economic challenges and obstacles faced by women micro-entrepreneurs who have been running small and growing businesses in various sectors like robotics, waste management, wellness, hospitality, etc. Notably, all the founders are a part of the ‘Her&Now’ project’s entrepreneurship support programmes. The project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)’ is implemented in various parts of India by GIZ, on behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; it is an ongoing bilateral project dedicated to empowering and supporting women entrepreneurs (both existing and aspiring ones) across tier 2 and tier 3 locations of India.

The founders (and their companies) highlighted through this podcast are Grace Rephung YL (EYAR Film Production House), Alemjungla Jamir (Naga Bowl Express), Kavitha Gopu (Laddo Box – manufacturer of sugar-free laddoos), Geetha Padma (Envirobotics--manufacturer of robotic devices to clean water), Odapalli Vijaya Laxmi, Keerthi Priya (solar dehydration of vegetables) and Tanushree Jain (Nushaura -- special wellness products like candles, etc. for asthma patients). These entrepreneurs are joined in the podcast by renowned gender experts — Dr. Seema Jayachandran, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University and Soumya Kapoor Mehta, Head of IWWAGE (Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy) and Lavanya Mohan, Co-Founder of WorkWife (an online community for working women in India), who writes extensively about women and finance.

Speaking on the podcast launch, Ullas Marar, Head of Project Her&Now says, “At present, there are thousands of small and growing women-led businesses in India that provide livelihoods and drive communities. However, unfortunately enough, these founders are rarely seen and/or heard of as embodying the entrepreneurial spirit of the nation. Our new podcast ‘Founders - A Her&Now Podcast’ is a unique endeavor in changing the narrative around women’s entrepreneurship in India, and it brings to fore hitherto untold stories of entrepreneurship-related struggles and experiences of women in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India.”

“We’ve covered many aspects of female workforce participation in the past for our podcast In the Field. It was a pleasure working with Project Her&Now and interacting with the various founders from diverse backgrounds, and their families. Being entrepreneurs ourselves, it has been so inspiring to talk with the women about their stories, the unique challenges they face, and their passion for their businesses,” adds Samyuktha Varma/Radhika Viswanathan from Vaaka Media.

The three episodes of ‘Founders: A Her&Now Podcast’ are now streaming on Spotify:

Episode 1 - Plans

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6au13bT1qKqBWiVoBXWsrv?si=qfqBTp3tRpuppRK41uMDg

Episode 2 - Interruptions

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7eLzOFrjL9ePOVrFfuSGhm?si=MXZJHbbbSEKMN9K2E5Buuw

Episode 3 - Dreams

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2PI20BxPTkt5QfYmOM47F4?si=oQMPOtimR
mxwaJ48Uat4g

About Her&Now

Having a shared mission of fostering gender-sensitive entrepreneurship policies, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is partnering with the Indian Government to nurture and empower the women entrepreneurship ecosystem throughout the country. It has therefore commissioned GIZ to carry out the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)’ in India, in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. In cooperation with local implementing partners across various parts of India, the ground-level project not only equips select women entrepreneurs in several parts of the nation with critical business skills, but also offers customized support through mentorship, access to market opportunities and peer networks, linkages to financial institutions, and so on.

On the other hand, “Her&Now -- Empowering Women Entrepreneurs” is a film and media campaign showcasing the outcomes and achievements of the aforementioned project. With an apt motto and tagline “Her Time Is Now”, the campaign is bringing to the fore thought-provoking, unique stories of countless women who are shedding stereotypes and/or overcoming challenges to fuel their entrepreneurship dreams.

Official Website: https://herandnow.in

About Vaaka Media

Vaaka Media is an independent podcast production company and communication consultancy founded by Samyuktha Varma and Radhika Viswanathan. Their flagship podcast, In the Field, is about India’s development sector and seeks to examine notions of progress and social change while touching upon important emerging issues in the development theory and practice. Their other podcasts examine climate change in Kerala (‘Kaalavastha’ made in collaboration with The World Bank), gender and urban public space (‘City of Women’), and law, technology and society (‘ExMachina’).

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