National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) organized ‘Dream to Destination (D2D)’ at Kolkata

CALCUTTA, India - April 19, 2014 - PRLog -- The Dream to Destination (D2D) program jointly offered by the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) and the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) aims to help 100 high-potential women entrepreneurs improve the fundability, scalability and revenue growth of their businesses through robust enterprise-development support.

National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), the flagship initiative of Wadhwani Foundation has conceptualized and spearheaded this initiative, leveraging its decade long experience in developing successful entrepreneurs & profitable start-ups. The Dream to Destination (D2D) program is designed for women entrepreneurs who own and actively run businesses with potential for growth.

The two days exclusive women-only mentoring-cum-workshops (mentor-shops) that kick started on 18th April at Barsana Clubs & Resorts has seen enthusiastic participation of women entrepreneurs from Kolkata. Mr. Deepak Khaitan, Former Chairman of Eastern India Regional Council of ‘The Institute of Company Secretaries of India’ and faculty of Law & Entrepreneurship at several prestigious colleges has facilitated the workshop with focused & individual attention given to each of the participants and to their business models.

The selection to this D2D program is through a careful scrutiny of applicants against a set criteria. The applications were received from a diverse group ranging from late twenties to late forties, from full-time entrepreneurs to professionals turned entrepreneurs, and their business ranging from early stage to growth stage with revenue slabs from Rs. 0 - 5 Lakh p.a. to Rs.1 crore and more. As far as industry type is concerned majority was of the participants were from IT, Manufacturing, Retail, Education and the rest from Biotech, Consulting, F&B and Hospitality.

These mentor-shops are aimed to equip the women entrepreneurs with tools to grow their businesses and assess their needs and then draw up a development plan. The participants would receive continuous handholding & support from NEN mentors and educators to developed tailored programs that fit their needs and enhances their potential for scale-up.

Dr. K. Srikrishna, Executive Director, National Entrepreneurship Network says “We believe that women have tremendous, untapped potential that that can transform local economies. Today only 15-20% of new entrepreneurs are women and these women face substantial challenges in access to networks in addition to skills and knowledge that all new entrepreneurs need.  The D2D program has been designed exclusively to help women entrepreneurs grow their own businesses through proven tools & strategies that NEN has developed, over the years. The enthusiastic participation and response by women entrepreneurs to the first Dream to Destination workshop in Kolkata tells us that we are on the right track to helping them take their businesses to the next level.”

Attending the Kolkata workshop, Ms. Ruppa Kakkar, said that “I have learnt a great deal from this workshop, it’s a good experience to learn the nuances of business from filed experts. First time I have attended this type of program, I’m sure this workshop and the following sessions would be of great benefit to my business”

Post the 2 day program, NEN is firming up customized development plans for each entrepreneur. The next phase of the program will roll out development plans by connecting the participants to relevant resources & support system. The aim of this program is to arm all the participating women entrepreneurs with access to knowledge & skills through intensive workshops, online courses, and courseware on topics such as business plans, business models, start-up finance, and customer acquisition; Goal-driven 1:1 mentoring support through NEN’s certified network of mentors and access to Industry experts & networks drawing on the NEN Resources Bureau network of 4,500 experts.

For more details on D2D: http://wadhwani-foundation.org/initiatives/entrepreneursh...

About NEN

The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) is Wadhwani Foundation’s flagship initiative in India. It was established in 2003 with a mission to inspire, educate and support high potential entrepreneurs to create millions of high-value jobs. NEN does this by building institutional capacity for entrepreneur support and a robust entrepreneurial eco-system. It was co-founded with IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad, BITS Pilani, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology.

NEN represents Asia’s largest and most dynamic community of young and future entrepreneurs.

For more details, visit: www.nenonline.org