US Consulate General Chennai Hosts “Leadership for Growth” Program

Bengaluru, July 07: Amani Institute with support from the U S Consulate General Chennai hosted a day-long workshop titled "Leadership for Growth Program-Impact Showcase" in Bengaluru on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.

Eighteen women social entrepreneurs from small and medium sized cities across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka attended the workshop led by Amani Institute, a US based non-profit organisation, a press release US Consulate General, Chennai said.

Their India office is based in Bengaluru. The program was designed around three strategic pillars of leadership development: leading the self, leading others, and leading the business. Participants were trained through a series of workshops spread over a period of five months which concluded with a final networking event showcasing business innovation project ideas that will be implemented within the participants' organisations. The U.S. Consulate General Chennai funded this project with the goal of building capacity of women entrepreneurs, to lead their businesses effectively, achieve financial growth, and create more employment opportunities for women, the release also said.

US Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin said, "Women's economic participation is integral to achieving greater security and stability around the world. The United States and India believe that the empowerment of women and girls is essential for sustained prosperity, peace, and progress in society. The United States sees India as a historic and strategic partner and is committed to working with India
to remove barriers to women's economic empowerment."

In her welcome remarks, Shehzia Lilani, Country Director India of Amani Institute said, "We've been exceedingly proud to support women social entrepreneurs over the past three years in association with the U.S. Consulate General Chennai - first 40 women entrepreneurs and now 18 women founders as part of this adapted version of our flagship Leadership for Growth program. In a country as large as India, we hope to foster a professional community of practice where women entrepreneurs across sectors and regions can come together, harness the collective intelligence and resources they have, and find ways to solve shared challenges effectively." mLavanya Soman, Founder and CEO of soft skills training and implementing company SStraight Circles and participant in the Leadership for Growth program shared this about her learning journey: "Over the past five months, I experienced an emotionally intelligent learning course for the first time in my life. I am immensely grateful to our facilitators from the Amani Institute and to the U.S. Consulate General Chennai for giving us this opportunity to not just help us turn inward but also empower us as leaders for growth as social entrepreneurs!"