Interview President Vimi Appadoo
Vimi Appadoo, president of AMFCE : Women entrepreneurship is about empowerment!
Meet a dynamic woman who aims to instill the passion for entrepreneurship in Mauritian women.
You have recently been elected president of AMFCE. What are your ambitions for the organisation and for Mauritian women entrepreneurs?
The new Executive Committee has as its priorities to see AMFCE evolve to be stronger both in terms of number of members and the participation of the Association in impacting positively the development and contribution of Women in Business. AMFCE would like to be a pool of role models for the other women entrepreneurs in Mauritius because we want mentor them and encourage them to grow and develop as future pillars of the Mauritian Economy.
Today, whether in Mauritius or from a global perspective, what is the economic value of women entrepreneurship?
Despite the fact that this sector of the economy is not fully recognized nor given the opportunity to develop to its full potential, there is no denying the fact that Women entrepreneurship is today not only contributing to alleviating the problem of unemployment but it is also contributing to the economy by providing diversity in our products and services.
Statistics have shown that, during phases of economic crisis like the one that is currently being felt globally, the first category of people to lose their job is normally women. So these women, just like our members, who started their own business as a way of developing their full potential and making their passion their way of living have today safeguarded their own career path and financial sustainability whilst creating innovative products/ services which have found their place in the economy.
How can we link women entrepreneurship to women empowerment?
I recently met a woman entrepreneur who would have loved to take her business to a higher and formal level but cannot do so because her husband does not want her to – you see this is lack of empowerment. That is you let me do something but you don’t allow me the liberty to use my potential/ abilities to turn it into something that I can be proud of.
Women entrepreneurship is about empowerment! And in fact all the measures that are being put in place to encourage women entrepreneurship are to get these women to “voler de leurs propres ailes”.
In a nutshell, a woman entrepreneur can only reap and reach success through empowerment from all angles – be it personal or professional.
Do you feel that entrepreneurship is properly promoted in Mauritius?
From AMFCE’s perspective, our members feel that much more could be done to promote the different categories of entrepreneurship that exist today in Mauritius.
How have you, as a woman, been empowered by empowered by entrepreneurship?
My two sources of empowerment have been my husband and my mentor. Without these two persons, I would not have been able to realise and exploit my full potential.
Marie-Noelle Elissac-Foy
(Founder member Source: http://www.thisweeknews.info/vimi-appadoo-president-of-amfce-women-entrepreneurship-is-about-empowerment/ )
