The pre-final round of Homepreneur Awards was organised by Brand
Avatar in the city recently to recognise the unique entrepreneurial
ideas of women working from home. “Basically, there is no platform in
India to celebrate the talent of those financially independent female
leaders who operate from their homes. We have created 12 separate
categories clubbed equally into three groups, to identify the innovative
concepts of contestants,” said L Hemachandran, founder and CEO, Brand
Avatar. Native Lead Foundation, a non-profit organisation, will fund
businesses of 10 select entrepreneurs and provide mentorship.
The shortlisting process was done based
on criteria like uniqueness of the business idea, how various challenges
were dealt with, the revenue they have pooled, the impact their
business has on family and society, leadership qualities, feasibility
and scalability. The event received around 8,000 applications out of
which 150 women entrepreneurs were selected for the personal interview
round. “Out of these applicants, 50 will be awarded,” added
Hemachandran.
Each group had women who have made their
mark in their chosen field. The panel of judges included Mariazeena
Johnson, pro chancellor, Sathyabama University, Veena Kumaravel,
founder, Naturals Salon, Poornima Ramasamy, national award-winning
costume designer, stylist and entrepreneur, Rohini manian, CEO, Gobal
Adjustments Services and editor-in-chief, Culturama Living,
Dhivyadharshani, celebrity anchor, Aruna Subramaniam, Trustee Bhoomika
trust, Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, founder and president, Avtar Career
Creators and Flexi Career India, Hema Rukmani, CEO, Thenanadal
Entertainment and Nalina Ramalakshmi, founder, Parent Circle Magazine.
“We met some really talented women... we
have been blown away by their confidence, precision, clarity and
perseverance. Some of them have very unique ideas which are really
unheard of,” said Dhivyadharshani. Poornima Ramasamy added, “To give
everyone a fair chance, we are marking them on the basis of previously
decided criteria so as to give them a holistic ranking. These people are
happy with what they are doing and have turned out to be real
fighters.”
Group one consists of categories like
arts and culture, beauty and wellness, media and entertainment and
differently-abled, group two comprises of sports and fitness, home
retail, food and beverages and agriculture, while group three includes
health care, education and literature, self help/ social activism/
social impact along with breaking stereotypes.
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