WE Mean Business Graphic Anthology of 20 Women Entrepreneurs launched

Guwahati, 26th October, 2022 *

GIZ Her&Now and Women Entrepreneur Network Manipur (WEMN) launches WE Mean Business Graphic Anthology of 20 Women Entrepreneurs in Manipur

WE Mean Business Graphic Anthology of 20 Women Entrepreneurs launched by GIZ Her&Now and Women Entrepreneur Network Manipur (WEMN) and Women Entrepreneur Network Nagaland (WENN)
~It narrates the stories of 20 women from across the country as they leave a mark on India’s entrepreneurial culture through gripping graphics
~The launch celebrates women entrepreneurship in Manipur with the all-women-led pop-up bazaar

Women Entrepreneur Network Manipur (WEMN), Women Entrepreneur Network Nagaland (WENN) and GIZ India’s Project Her&Now launched a graphic novel titled ‘WE Mean Business – 20 Women Entrepreneurs, 20 Stories’ in English and its Hindi version- “Mera Business, Meri Kahaani” at KAGO football Artificial turf, Imphal and Chumoukedima, Nagaland. The launch was followed by a pop-up bazaar from WENN women entrepreneurs.

The graphic novel is a celebration of women entrepreneurs in India and is an anthology of graphic narratives by and of twenty inspiring business women from across India. The visual retellings convey their protagonists' diverse life stories and lifeworlds as they choose to narrate them. These are stories of ambitious women defying expectations and claiming space from diverse trajectories in non-metropolitan India.

Speaking about the book launch, the authors, Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Shrutika Mathur, and NishthaVadehra said, "This is a book of conversations with women entrepreneurs who let us into their worlds and journeys. In each of these stories we got distinct visual opportunities to articulate their familiar challenges in unfamiliar terrains, to realize the inspiring possibilities of making things happen on their own terms.”

Talking about the launch event, WEMN member Swati Thounaojam, Founder, The White Lotus, said, “As a network, WEMN’s goal is to create a more enabling environment for women entrepreneurs in Manipur. This event is a celebration of women entrepreneurs, their diverse realities, business journeys, and ambitions. We plan to do many more such events in the region and grow our network far and wide.”

Project Her&Now has been creating a more enabling environment for women-led businesses in India since 2018. The programme has supported over 900 women entrepreneurs across India's Tier II and III cities. The women featured in the novel belong to regions like North-East India, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana, and various business sectors and other diverse backgrounds, each illustrated in a unique visual style.

The book will be available on Amazon and Flipkart as well as the local bookstores in India.

Women Entrepreneur Network Nagaland (WENN) and GIZ India’s Project Her&Now launched a graphic novel titled ‘WE Mean Business – 20 Women Entrepreneurs, 20 Stories’ in Nagaland

About GIZ Her&Now

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women’ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the Government of India, to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India. Since its inception in 2018, the project has created an enabling environment for women-led enterprises in India. It is working on it through the following touchpoints:

- Incubation and Acceleration support programmes for women entrepreneurs in tier II and tier III cities in the North Eastern Region, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. So far, these programmes have supported over 900 women entrepreneurs. In the North East and Rajasthan, the project has facilitated women entrepreneur-led networks like WE Manipur, WEN Nagaland, AWARE in Rajasthan and MeraBizNet in Uttar Pradesh.

- WINcubate, a gender-sensitive entrepreneurship support training, (developed in collaboration with Dhriiti- The Courage Within) equips incubators to adopt women-centric incubation practices. 10 Atal Innovation Mission incubators and 12 Govt. of Gujarat incubators in the country have undertaken this training.

- The Film-and Media Campaign celebrates women entrepreneurs and their contribution to society and the economy. To stir a positive mindset change, the project has produced 4 award-winning short films being screened in over 40 cities in India.

Curated and created by Windchangers, a social and developmental communications collective executing social projects across India. Working with leading organizations and sectors, the collective believes in challenging the status quo and using a multi-disciplinary approach across communication forms and genres, including visual-based narratives across the spectrum.

Published by GIZ, Co-published by Yoda Press, a leading independent publishing house that has built a stellar list, publishing leading contemporary voices across the Indian Subcontinent. And Fortune Print Services, a leading print solutions-based company in New Delhi.