I eat Millets and grow Millets, so also my husband Nagarjuna: Amala Akkineni

3rdBusiness Women Expo 2023, the biggest ever Expo for women entrepreneurs and innovators with over 220 plus exhibitors from 15 states begins

Hyderabad, March 11, 2023…..The 3rd Business Women Expo 2023, the biggest ever Expo for women entrepreneurs and innovators with over 220 plus exhibitors from 15 states begins at Hitex on Friday. It is a three-day expo, which will conclude on Sunday. It is open from 10 am to 7 pm. Entry is free and all are welcome. Nearly 18000 people are expected to visit the expo in the next three days

Ms. Amala Akkineni, Veteran Film star and Director, Annapurna Studio;
Mr. Gareth Wynn Owenn, Deputy High Commissioner, United Kingdom inaugurated the three-day expo being organized by Hitex.

Dr KBRS Visarda, Principal Scientist-IIM; Ms Deepthi Ravula, CEO, We Hub, Dr. Shilpi Reddy, KIMS Hospital; Mr M. Srinivas Rao, Ministry of MSME- Govt. of India; Ms Kadambari Umapathy, Founder- WeDo, Mr Anil Agarwal- President- FTCCI; Mr Krishna Yedula – Secretary General, SCSC and Mr Sambit Kumar Mund, Sr. General Manager -HITEX have joined them in the inauguration.

The theme of the exhibition is ‘More Power to Women”. The Exhibition is supported by the Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India, T-HUB, WE-Hub, WEDO, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Indian Chamber of Commerce and many other trade bodies.

Addressing the gathering immediately after the inauguration, MsAmala said there are three strengths and weaknesses to look out for in women. The three strengths are understanding feminism and the equality of the sexes. The second strength is to be proud to be a businesswoman. 75% of the Indian population gets employment through family-run businesses. The third strength she said was to build own identity, don’t be stereotyped. Be different and make a difference.

The three weaknesses are fence-sitting feminists. They are neither there nor here. The second is the mindset that you can’t do it. The third weakness is women could be the worst enemies of women. Improve your strengths and convert weaknesses into strengths, she said.

Speaking about Millets, she recalled the rich nutritious values found in Millets. I eat millets, grow millets, and so does my husband, film star Nagarjuna, she said.

Mr Sambit Mund of Hitex said the objective of the expo is to create business opportunities and give them a platform to network.

Mr Gareth Wynn Owenn Deputy High Commissioner, United Kingdom said to be successful both genders women and men need each other. They are partners in each others’ progress. Hyderabad fosters a good business environment. We need to see more women in business. They bring more perspectives, and new ideas and broaden the horizon for better business, he said

He gave three suggestions which can help to see more women getting into the business. We must enable them more access to capital. In the USA most successful women are blacks and not whites, they have more access to capital. We must extend them more support to develop skills. We must develop a mindset to recognize women and their contributions.

Mr M. Srinivas Rao, Ministry of MSME- Govt. of India said 80% of Udhyam MSME Registrations from across India have come from Telangana state alone. Udyam registration is a general certification that allows micro, small, and medium enterprises to register themselves with the government. This registration provides the MSME with a commendation certificate and a unique identity number.

Dr. Shilpi Reddy, KIMS Hospital said during the three days, they focus on women and child wellness. They will run cancer awareness, Millets Promotion and Cooking with millets. She urged society to include mother and child wellness into the system.

Mr. Anil Agarwal, President of FTCCI said women are behind every successful man. Women are an integral part of society, he added.

Ms. Kadambari Umapathy, Founder of We Do told women to be persistent and consistent in pursuing their dreams. During the show, Visionary Women Awards will be presented to 105 women.

Sripriya Rao of Karkinos said 70% of Cancer cases are detected in the last stage. Cervical Cancer is caused by a virus called HPV. This vaccine must be taken to make our women infection free.

A couple of years back we were worried that Millets might disappear from us. IIMR (Indian Institute of Millets Research) trains home entrepreneurs in cookies, and biscuits making from Millets for domestic consumption as well as commercial use, said Dr KBRS Visarda, Principal Scientist of IIMR. India is a centre for Millet. IIMR runs programs to cook with millet. It trains home entrepreneurs on how to make biscuits and cookies for household use as well as commercial use.

Millets are the pride of India. Our Traditional Grains have got international recognition, she added. She urged people to make Millets part of food service. Millets should be part of our meal every day, she said.

Mr. Krishna Yedula informed that SCSC (Society for Cyberabad Security Council) has taken up several initiatives including starting 15 shuttle services for the safety of the women.

Abhinav of AasaanWill said their online Will Writing Platform is the only one of its kind in India. It helped 1000 plus people to write their Will. Unfortunately, 95% of the Indian Population does not know much about Will and Will Writing. He told women to secure their hard-earned properties.

Amazon will run a vendor registration program during the show. We Hub will launch We Corner.

I-Run to organize Hyderabad’s first exclusive women’s run. It is a women-only run to be held on the last day of the exhibition. I-Run found that women are shy about participating in runs. They say it is because of lack of company, whom to run with. Also, they don’t participate partly because of their household responsibilities, he said. 1500 women are expected to participate in the run.