Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Shrutika Mathur, and Nishtha Vadehra collaborated on the book’s creation and illustration. GIZ, Yoda Press, and Fortune Print Services published the novel.
Through compelling graphics, it tells the lives of 20 women from around the country as they leave their impact on India’s business culture.
Today, GIZ India’s Project Her&Now debuted a graphic novel named ‘WE Mean Business – 20 Women Entrepreneurs, 20 Stories’ in English and its Hindi version- “Mera Business, Meri Kahaani” in New Delhi’s Triveni Kala Sangam.
The book is an anthology of graphic storytelling written by about twenty inspirational businesswomen from India.
As their protagonists choose to recount them, the visual retellings depict their protagonists’ unique life tales and lifeworlds.
These are the stories of ambitious women breaking expectations and seizing space in non-metropolitan India.
Since 2018, Project Her&Now has been working to improve the climate for women-led enterprises in India. Over 900 women entrepreneurs have benefited from the programs in India’s Tier II and III cities.
The women in the novel are from North-East India, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana, as well as numerous business sectors and other diverse backgrounds, and are each represented in a distinct visual style.
“This book is a celebration of women entrepreneurs in India.” This visual anthology depicts the different and unique realities that women entrepreneurs face across company sectors, locations, ages, and social groupings. We believe that by emphasising the successful experiences of relevant role models, this book sparks discussions about the role of women in the economy and encourages many more young women in the country to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities!”
Julia Karst, Head of Project Her&Now, GIZ India
“This is a book of talks, with women entrepreneurs who invite us inside their worlds and travels.” We had different visual opportunities in each of these stories to explain their familiar obstacles in fresh terrains, to realize the inspirational possibilities of making things happen on their own terms.”
Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Shrutika Mathur, and Nishtha Vadehra, stated
The book will be available on Amazon as well as in Indian bookstores.
About GIZ Her&Now
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the Government of India, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women’ to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India.
Since its launch in 2018, the project has developed a supportive atmosphere for women-led businesses.
Indian businesses It is working on it through the following touchpoints: – Incubation and Acceleration assistance programs for women entrepreneurs in North Eastern Region, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra tier II and tier III cities.
Over 900 women entrepreneurs have benefited from these programs thus far.
The project has supported women-led networks in the North East and Rajasthan, including WE Manipur, WEN Nagaland, AWARE in Rajasthan, and MeraBizNet in Uttar Pradesh.
- WINcubate, a gender-sensitive entrepreneurship assistance workshop (created in conjunction with Dhriiti- The Courage Within), prepares incubators to implement women-centric incubation methods. This training has been completed by 10 Atal Innovation Mission incubators and 12 Govt. of Gujarat incubators across the country.
- The Film-and-Media Campaign recognises female entrepreneurs for their contributions to society and the economy. To encourage a positive mindset shift, the initiative has created four award-winning short films that have been presented in over 40 cities across India.
