On April 16, 2024, an online meeting of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance working group on inclusive economy took place. Representatives from the Working Groups on Inclusive Economy of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa Chapters of the Alliance attended the event.
The meeting was moderated by Galina Volkova, PhD in Economics, Founder of Orthomoda Group of Companies, Head of the BRICS WBA Russia Chapter Working Group on Inclusive Economy.
Anna Nesterova, Global Chairperson of BRICS WBA, welcomed the participants of the meeting.
The representatives discussed the key aspects of the concept of inclusive economy. The participants highlighted the crucial role of governments in promoting the presence of women in the economic sector.
Experts from the Russian Chapter of the Alliance presented their projects on inclusive economy, including “Care Economy. BRICS White Paper”, “School on Financial Literacy and Security for Women in BRICS countries”, and “BRICS Green Fashion & Universal Design Forum”.
The participants of the meeting expressed support for Russian projects, and also focused on such urgent problems as limited access to financial services for women, low entrepreneurial activity of women in developing countries.
Representatives of the National Chapters of the Alliance shared the experience of their countries in solving the problems. In particular, the representative of the Indian Chapter Surekha Marandi, Former Executive Director, RBI, spoke about the system of regional monitoring of progress in access to financial services. Lebogang Zulu, Executive Director of Kampara Industries Holdings (Pty) Ltd., Chairperson of BRICS WBA South Africa Chapter, Head of the BRICS WBA South Africa Chapter Working Group on Inclusive Economy, presented the initiative “The Pioneer Precinct on BRICS” aimed at fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the BRICS countries.
At the end of the meeting, the participants of the online-meeting agreed to combine the best practices of the BRICS countries to empower women entrepreneurs, improve their education and skills, as well as develop a digital infrastructure that promotes greater inclusivity of women in macroeconomics.
Galina Volkova invited those present to participate in a Panel discussion on inclusive economy at the BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum (June 2-4, 2024).