In the run up to International Women’s Day, the SheTrades Mauritius Hub hosted a networking event on 4 March which brought together representatives of the SheTrades India Hub with women entrepreneurs from Mauritius, who shared their personal experiences of the entrepreneurial landscape.
The event formed part of a peer-to-peer knowledge sharing session, held at the Economic Development Board (EDB) Mauritius, as the host institution for the SheTrades Mauritius Hub, with the participation of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), as the host institution of the SheTrades India Hub to be launched on 11 March. The visit was facilitated by the International Trade Centre (ITC), in the framework of the UK Government-funded SheTrades Commonwealth+ programme.
The event was opened by Nirmala Jeetah, Director at the EDB Mauritius, who welcomed the representatives of the SheTrades India Hub and the women entrepreneurs from Mauritius. She described the session as an opportunity to explore the potential synergies between the SheTrades Hubs of Mauritius and India. She explained that the SheTrades Hub in Mauritius aimed to facilitate more business activities and to provide the competences and skills to further enhance the businesses of the women entrepreneurs. “Today, India and Mauritius have longstanding economic and cultural ties and we aim to build upon this foundation to connect women entrepreneurs from both nations,” she commented. By exchanging best practices, identifying key sectors of mutual interest and leveraging the SheTrades global network, they could create impactful collaboration that would not only lead to business growth but contribute to inclusive economic development, she added.
Speaking on behalf of the Indian Business Council, Meenakshi Saxena, explained that a wide range of sectors were represented within the Council, ranging from the educational sector to restaurants, hospitality, handicraft and jewellery and social media, among others. She added that the Council had always provided a forum for networking, and it was now working hand-in-hand with the EDB to provide capacity building.
Aarti Abbi, as a member of the Indian Business Council, explained her career path which began in education in India and Mauritius, before choosing to become an entrepreneur in the jewellery space, setting up her company Pink Elephant. She explained that Pink Elephant deals in handcrafted ethnic jewellery and accessories from India and has been successfully exhibiting at malls and also selling online over the past five years.
She described some of the challenges she had faced, which had included introducing Indian non-contemporary jewellery to the Mauritian market as well as securing a place in premium expos and malls. She mentioned that another major hurdle had been in sourcing materials from outside Mauritius while ensuring timely delivery and maintaining affordability.
Sharing her experience in the educational sector, Rajeshwar Jayasankar, Co-Founder and Director of Campus Abroad, described her journey of leaving Chennai with her husband to build a new life in Mauritius. With no prior knowledge of the education sector but a lot of enthusiasm, she recalled that Campus Abroad was set up in 2021 with just one UK university as a client. She highlighted how the business had grown significantly over the years, with over 70 educational institutions from around the world participating in their annual education fair in 2024, and that they had become a “trustworthy brand” in Mauritius.
Shweta Reedha, Agency Manager of Digital Kites, recalled the meaning of ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘entreprendre’ which meant beginning an action which can be very long and complex, and she said this was the story of Digital Kites. She noted that when they started the business in 2014 they had not been sure if it would be a successful endeavour, in the realm of advertising, marketing and social media, where 30 agencies were already existing on the market. She recalled that the shift from traditional to digital advertising was just beginning, which helped them decide their name, and that over time they had built a client base of over 50 clients, including the Indian High Commission.
Shabnam Esmael, President of the Association Mauricienne Des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises (AMFCE), founded in 1986, described the purpose of the association as getting women together, from different backgrounds. She saw that entrepreneurship could be a lonely place, and noted that women are juggling work, sometimes because of need and sometimes because they wanted to make an impact. The association aimed to bring people together to share their experiences, with her own personal experience in the male dominated security sector. She noted that women faced constraints and challenges, such as the glass ceiling as they have children, but saw that men were also playing their part. She said that AMFCE loved partnering with SheTrades as the two organisations were really aligned in their vision. She noted that they had a project with the US Embassy and also “Business without Borders” with the Australian High Commission. She summed up their motto: “alone we are invisible, together we are invincible”.
Shabnam invited members of the AMFCE to introduce themselves to facilitate the networking, including entrepreneur Karuna Puri from Rootz Consult Ltd, who mentioned that she was active in the field of business facilitation and supporting other entrepreneurs, including women.
Azeeza Ruhomuth introduced herself as the Director of RAFS Design, active in the jewellery domain, which was a new field that she had branched into without having any family history in the area, as was often the case for others on the market.
Suchita Gopaul described herself as a Director of Cactus Lily Ltd, as an entrepreneur in the field of healthy products, mainly based on honey produce, while also working as an employee for Animalia Veterinary Clinic.
As a highly experienced entrepreneur across a wide range of sectors, ranging healthcare to IT, training, restaurant sector, sports and beachwear, Sameera Chattun Koyratty saw that being an entrepreneur was not an easy job. She also leads Women in Tech Africa, which brings together those with a similar vision in IT, which holds events bringing together around 100 women. She explained her role as an international mentor for more than 300 women entrepreneurs and her participation in the AMFCE, which she saw allowed her to grow a lot. In terms of how to manage so many activities, she summed up that “as a woman we can do a lot … if you do your planning properly you can do anything”.
Well established entrepreneur and creator of numerous initiatives to support women, Georgina Ragaven asked the women why they had chosen to become entrepreneurs, with responses including “to help the family” and “to be your own boss”. Georgina agreed that everyone thought that by becoming an entrepreneur it would lead to being independent but that in reality “every client is a boss”. She recalled her own professional history in Mauritius, beginning as a fitness instructor before moving into training, always having a passion to give something back. She had worked with women entrepreneurs in many different contexts, and had enjoyed seeing the evolution of how women entrepreneurs are now taken seriously and can start their own businesses. She thought it was important to have platforms such as SheTrades to show women that they are not alone and to help them become export ready and urged women to use them. She mentioned time banking, which she had introduced to Mauritius, to help empower other women and women entrepreneurs, which was about sharing their time. Her advice to women was: “don’t give up”.
Speaking as part of the SheTrades India Hub delegation, Sonam Kasera, Managing Committee Member of the Kolkata FIEO and CEO of Kamrup Tea Company shared some of her insights. She saw that women faced the same challenges across the globe. She saw that tea was sold globally through public auctions, which was male dominated, and where her opinions even on the taste of tea were not taken into account. She saw that through hard work, focus and being headstrong, women could still overcome such challenges. She explained that FIEO had given women entrepreneurs such as herself a platform to help them to expand into new markets and to participate in global fairs and exhibitions. She saw that women who can break through glass ceilings “can change the world”.
The vote of thanks was given by Sujata Uchil, Joint Director of the Mumbai FIEO, said that it had been inspiring to hear the stories of the women entrepreneurs from Mauritius, despite having faced a lot of challenges. She explained that the ITC had approached FIEO to become the SheTrades Hub in India, which would be launched on 11 March. She considered that they had had a very good interaction with SheTrades Mauritius and that they had learned a lot of things on how to help the women entrepreneurs, which they could do in India. She said that the discussions had given them valuable learnings which they would be able to share with their own women entrepreneurs in the future.
