Women to form half of the participants at Global Entrepreneurship Summit

One-third of the 1,200 participants at the summit, including Ivanka Trump, will be coming from the US

Half of the delegates at the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which is being co-hosted by India and the United States, are expected to be women entrepreneurs in tune with the theme of the ensuing edition of the event, 'Women First, Prosperity for All'.

The presence of women entrepreneurs in such a large proportion at a global business event would be a rare spectacle, according to the organisers.

One-third of the 1,200 participants at the summit, which is being held here from November 28-30, will be coming from the US. Ivanka Trump, daughter of American President Donald Trump, and also a senior advisor to the President, is leading a 400-member delegation comprising of many prominent speakers and entrepreneurs of that country, according to The White House representative Jennifer Arangio.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the summit on November 28. Ivanka will also address the inaugural session besides staying back to attend some of the programmes lined up in the first half of the following day, Arangio informed.

Being held for the first time in Asia, the summit would primarily act a platform for networking and possible collaborations among the investors and companies of different countries while some business agreements would also be signed during the event, according to NITI Ayog senior adviser C Muralikrishna Kumar.

The summit would broadly focus on four areas, namely health and life sciences, digital economy and financial technologies, energy and infrastructure, and media and entertainment, the organisers.

Responding to a question, Arangio, who is senior director for International Organisations and Alliances at the National Security Council, The White House, said the delegates from the US would represent a broad spectrum of industry including energy and infrastructure besides the Silicon Valley.

"There are some 130 American companies here in Hyderabad, who in addition to creating jobs both here and in the United States, are always actively working to stimulate entrepreneurship and women's empowerment. I am excited that we'll be able to introduce more Amercian entrepreneurs and investors to this region" said Katherine Hadda, US Consul General, Hyderabad.