The Empowering Women Globally program is bringing female scholars and students to Bradley University to exchange their insights into social entrepreneurship.
Dr. Arijita Dutta is a Professor of Economics at the University of Calcutta in India. She says India has a patriarchal society.
"Business is not seen as a women's forte. So people really do not believe in your abilities at the first level, so you need to prove yourself more," she said.
Dutta says the EWG program offered a good mix of theory and practical knowledge she can take back home to help female entrepreneurs build up their businesses.
Professor Patralika Bhattacharjya teaches economics at Sister Nivedita University in India. She is the EWG Scholar for 2024.
"We have a big, good template to start with, to know how to take it ahead for the next part of the journey," she said. "But I do realize there are few challenges in both the countries, because what it looks as an academic exercise, it may look beautiful. When you hit the ground, it may be completely different when you are actually trying to implement it. And that is my challenge, to implement it in practice."
Sneha Rajak describes some of the challenges she saw when she was a volunteer working with female entrepreneurs in India.
"I have seen major challenges that they are unable to actually use the resources that are available to them, and also some resources that are there, these are not actually accessible by the entrepreneurs," she said.
Rajak says the EWG program is also giving her the confidence to launch her own entrepreneurial journey.