ET Bureau Financial Literacy to women is a key issue in India. Sarika Gupta Bhattacharya took upon herself the responsibility to do her bit in this direction with her venture Biz Divas. It is an initiative that aims at empowering women with entrepreneurial, business, financial and personal development skills. Key associates Ranjna Deopa and Priyanka Awasthy are helping Sarika in her endeavour.
All three of them were investment bankers who left their jobs to start Altavis, an Executive Search and HR firm. Biz Divas is a CSR initiative of Altavis started in 2011, with Gurgaon Banglore and Mumbai chapters.
Sarika said, “The idea behind genesis of Biz Divas is that there comes a time in the lives of women where they find themselves unable to move forward towards their dreams because of various responsibilities and other factors. This is where we come in. There is a combined brain-pool of enterprising women which is there to help women in various areas.”
We have seen a phenomenal growth in a matter of three years around 300% in the way we have been received. We started with just 11 participants in our inaugural event in 2011 in Delhi-NCR and have reached to over 250 now said Sarika.
Biz Divas Monthly Networking Sessions are aimed at providing the members with a platform where they interact with each other and make useful connections. “We have mentored over 1,500 women across India. It has a strong presence online. Around 2,000 women are connected to Biz Divas via social media.”
She adds, “We have also seen active participation from women in Noida and Gurgaon. This is not surprising as we can find very educated, well travelled and extremely competitive women here. They have a fair understanding of how the corporate world works so it’s just a matter of grooming them.”
She further adds, “Other NCR regions are also catching up so we are hoping to make it big in the Delhi-NCR region.”
“Making a tight business plan, financial planning, tax planning, goal setting, online marketing and communication are some of the key areas where we have found big gaps and all these are the fundamentals of doing business and sustain a successful model,” pointed Sarika.
With women becoming more enterprising and assertive, Biz Divas is working towards sensitizing male colleagues for a better and balanced work place. ”This is done through diversity & inclusion space program,” informed Sarika. The organisation is also working closely with corporate to coach and mentor women employees.
Being a part of Global Ambassadors Program sponsored by Vital Voices and Bank of America gave her the requisite exposure to take up leadership role in her area of expertise and come up with her own HR firm.
Biz Divas Mentoring Leadership Programme was an initiative announced at ‘I Inspire 2013’ and launched soon after. That was a watershed moment not only for her but the company too according to Sarika. I Inspire, an event aimed to be a confluence of ideas, a convergence of thought and a celebration of the spirit of diversity and entrepreneurship.
The programme is meant to connect talented, emerging women leaders from all over India with members of Biz Divas’ Powerful Leaders for a six-month long mentoring programme. It aims to support more than 100 emerging women leaders reach decision making levels in corporate, business, parliament and public leadership by 2020.
Biz Divas also conducted women leadership conclaves for organisations like Deutsche Bank as their Knowledge Partner. There is a cost attached to the campaign which she said is taken care of by sponsors. “We have some big corporate houses funding our initiative. Company Law which requires to have at least one woman in board room has made it mandatory for companies to look for suitable women leaders. Companies are helping us to help them find one.”
“There is also a very nominal membership fee of `5,000 annually. But this is to encourage more participation. When people pay they participate.” Elaborating on her future plans Sarika said, “With the launch of Corporate Networking Group in 2013, Biz Divas will be working closely with its member organisations to create a brighter future for women who want to make it big.
All three of them were investment bankers who left their jobs to start Altavis, an Executive Search and HR firm. Biz Divas is a CSR initiative of Altavis started in 2011, with Gurgaon Banglore and Mumbai chapters.
Sarika said, “The idea behind genesis of Biz Divas is that there comes a time in the lives of women where they find themselves unable to move forward towards their dreams because of various responsibilities and other factors. This is where we come in. There is a combined brain-pool of enterprising women which is there to help women in various areas.”
We have seen a phenomenal growth in a matter of three years around 300% in the way we have been received. We started with just 11 participants in our inaugural event in 2011 in Delhi-NCR and have reached to over 250 now said Sarika.
Biz Divas Monthly Networking Sessions are aimed at providing the members with a platform where they interact with each other and make useful connections. “We have mentored over 1,500 women across India. It has a strong presence online. Around 2,000 women are connected to Biz Divas via social media.”
She adds, “We have also seen active participation from women in Noida and Gurgaon. This is not surprising as we can find very educated, well travelled and extremely competitive women here. They have a fair understanding of how the corporate world works so it’s just a matter of grooming them.”
She further adds, “Other NCR regions are also catching up so we are hoping to make it big in the Delhi-NCR region.”
“Making a tight business plan, financial planning, tax planning, goal setting, online marketing and communication are some of the key areas where we have found big gaps and all these are the fundamentals of doing business and sustain a successful model,” pointed Sarika.
With women becoming more enterprising and assertive, Biz Divas is working towards sensitizing male colleagues for a better and balanced work place. ”This is done through diversity & inclusion space program,” informed Sarika. The organisation is also working closely with corporate to coach and mentor women employees.
Being a part of Global Ambassadors Program sponsored by Vital Voices and Bank of America gave her the requisite exposure to take up leadership role in her area of expertise and come up with her own HR firm.
Biz Divas Mentoring Leadership Programme was an initiative announced at ‘I Inspire 2013’ and launched soon after. That was a watershed moment not only for her but the company too according to Sarika. I Inspire, an event aimed to be a confluence of ideas, a convergence of thought and a celebration of the spirit of diversity and entrepreneurship.
The programme is meant to connect talented, emerging women leaders from all over India with members of Biz Divas’ Powerful Leaders for a six-month long mentoring programme. It aims to support more than 100 emerging women leaders reach decision making levels in corporate, business, parliament and public leadership by 2020.
Biz Divas also conducted women leadership conclaves for organisations like Deutsche Bank as their Knowledge Partner. There is a cost attached to the campaign which she said is taken care of by sponsors. “We have some big corporate houses funding our initiative. Company Law which requires to have at least one woman in board room has made it mandatory for companies to look for suitable women leaders. Companies are helping us to help them find one.”
“There is also a very nominal membership fee of `5,000 annually. But this is to encourage more participation. When people pay they participate.” Elaborating on her future plans Sarika said, “With the launch of Corporate Networking Group in 2013, Biz Divas will be working closely with its member organisations to create a brighter future for women who want to make it big.
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