Case Study: Curated Event For Global Tech Giant To Meet SMBs

Enabling a global technology leader to meet its target customers in a creative event format.

According to the Sixth Economic Census by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), only 14% of businesses in India are run by women. There are a total of 58.5 million businesses in India, but only 8.05 million are managed by women entrepreneurs.

Indian Angel Network (IAN), one of the largest angel investor clubs in the country has seen ideas from women increase from 10% four years ago to 30% currently. LetsVenture, a Bengaluru-based platform for raising funds has seen 100% growth in women funded startups from a year-ago period, with one-fifth of the companies the platform has funded in the last 12 months having women founders or co-founders, according to reports by Economic Times.

With a rise in the number of women starting up, a supportive ecosystem can definitely help.

Having inspired over 5000 women entrepreneurs through #BreakingBarriers (an annual event by Women’s Web for women entrepreneurs), Women’s Web curated and conceptualised an event for IBM – the multinational technology and consulting corporation, where IBM global leaders were able to meet their target SMB customers in Mumbai. 

As an organization, IBM has relentlessly focused on building and fostering an inclusive career environment. Therefore, IBM has been strategic in its approach to giving women, the opportunities and resources needed to progress in their career and to fulfill the company’s purpose.

Called ‘Women Rock! Paper Scissors’, the event was structured as a networking event for women entrepreneurs and included sessions on managing social platforms, using technology including IBM’s Watson and other relevant industry insights.

Data at Women’s Web reveals that 15% of women in business are technology vendors while 37% of the audience uses sophisticated technology for running their businesses, where tech is a crucial component for delivering their product or services.

Driving the campaign to the online audience for a month, the event was structured and formatted in the form of panel discussions and solo sessions for an exclusive audience of 50 tech entrepreneurs based in Mumbai. An overall audience of 3 lakh was reached through a digital omnichannel approach, and the brand message amplified with featured interviews and influencers. 

Besides industry insights, there was also much discussion on funding for women-led ventures, with queries answered by a leading investor from a Mumbai based angel investing firm.

“It was a delight to meet so many strong women. Thank you for your energy and drive to provide a forum for networking, learning and sharing ideas.” – Sandy Carter, General Manager, Ecosystems and Startups, IBM

The campaign successfully targeted an audience of 3 lakh with women in tech attending the event.