India to host Dell Women Entrepreneur Network in 2012

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NEW DELHI– Dell, along with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women and Endeavor, announced today it will host the third annual Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) June 17-19, 2012, in New Delhi, India.

The three-day event will be emceed by Forbes Woman President and Editor Moira Forbes and hosted by Karen Quintos, Dell chief marketing officer, and Steve Felice, president of Dell Consumer, Small and Medium Business. The event will connect female founders, CEOs and leaders of high-growth businesses in the world’s top markets to share best practices and challenges, and to celebrate the impact women-owned businesses have on the global economy.

“For these entrepreneurs to compete in today’s global landscape, they need to expand their networks, access new sources of capital and explore how technology can help them innovate,” Ms. Quintos said. “This is exactly the goal of The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, and we’re absolutely committed to empowering these women and their businesses to succeed and grow.”

India is shifting from a developing nation into a robust economic powerhouse, making it an ideal location to foster global entrepreneurship. According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, India is poised to overtake the USA and emerge as the world’s second largest economy on purchasing power parity basis by 20501. However, while the number of female entrepreneurs worldwide is growing at a rapid pace, research from Endeavor indicates that women entrepreneurs in emerging markets have weaker traditional business skills and less access than men do to established business networks.

“Female entrepreneurs in developing countries face significant obstacles to growth. They have a tendency to be self-funded, and are much less likely to be in business with a partner or co-founder,” said Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor Global. “The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network is building an incredibly valuable network by bringing together a community of like-minded businesswomen worldwide and connecting them with right resources to propel growth.”

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the global economy, and World Bank and The World Economic Forum both report that women-owned businesses can be the tipping point for a global economic comeback2. To further spur such growth, Dell continues to host the event in emerging countries after successfully piloting DWEN 2010 in Shanghai, China, during the World Expo, and then in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2011.

In Brazil, Moira Forbes served as emcee of the invitation-only event attended by more than 100 female business owners, business icons, experts and thought leaders from around the world. Speakers and panelists included Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post; Carley Roney, founder of The Knot; venture consultant Judith Clegg, founder and CEO of Venturing Unlimited and The Glasshouse; Leila Velez, president of the Brazilian beauty chain Beleza Natural; Amy Millman, president and co-founder of entrepreneur incubator Springboard Enterprises; and Reina Otsuka, founder & CEO of Ecotwaza, a leading eco-friendly Japanese product export company.

DWEN conversations from the 2011 event focused on the theme of “Building the Power of Your Business” including discussions on technology, marketing, branding, social media, raising capital, and more. Women leaders are invited to join in the conversation via the Women Powering Business Network group on LinkedIn and by following #dwen on Twitter.

Conference content can be accessed online on Flickr and Dell.com/women, highlights include:

Doing Business in Brazil – In the last decade, Brazil has made its way onto the world stage as the world’s fifth largest country and eight largest economy, with nearly half of the country’s entrepreneurs being women3. A panel of experts discussed major growth opportunities in Brazil along with the challenges and rewards of expanding into an overseas market and offered ideas on trade bodies to help with market assessment, potential in-country partners, and legal protection. The first in a series of interactive guides developed from session dialogue is now available online and provides tips for doing business in Brazil. (GUIDE)
Entrepreneurial Incubators on Equity and Gaining Pitch Confidence – Venture-catalyst Springboard Enterprises hosted hands-on workshops to help attendees both understand the current private equity landscape, how to seek the right kind of equity for the appropriate growth stage of their companies, and on how to pitch a business to potential customers, partners, vendors, investors and press. Lauren Flanagan, founder and managing partner, Belle Capital and Phenomenelle Angels Fund I, provided advice on what funds such as hers look for in young companies (VIDEO)
Taking Social Media to Social Commerce – Advancements by Orkut, Facebook, Renren, LinkedIn and Twitter allow businesses to move beyond marketing in social media to conduct commerce. A panel of experts provided a look at how it all started and who is doing it well, along with explaining how to connect social media commerce to sales teams and strategies. Julia Angwin, senior technology editor, Wall Street Journal, and author of Stealing myspace profiled the evolution of social commerce (VIDEO).
Dell will be rolling out new guides based on session content on a bi-weekly basis for the next three months, all of which will be available via Dell’s Women Powering Business website.