TTC, in partnership with the Government of Karnataka, helped curate and organise WEConnect International’s fourth annual ThinkBig Summit. It was Asia’s largest summit on Women Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment. The main goal of ThinkBig 2016 was to connect women-owned businesses with public and private sector opportunities that could dramatically impact the growth of their businesses. The Summit was held over two days, 14-15 November 2016, in Bangalore International Exhibition Center, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The Summit enabled over 3,500 dynamic participants to engage in two days of inspiring and interactive sessions. ThinkBig 2016 saw participation by delegates from 19 states around India and 15 countries worldwide. These delegates, mostly consisting of women owned business, were able to interact and network with 54 companies and their procurement teams. The Summit brought together over 300 Industry Leaders and National and International Thought Leaders, over 400 Businesses, and 35 top Banks to meet and engage with Women-Owned Businesses and Women Entrepreneurs from across the country.

The Summit was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sh. Siddaramaiah. Also in attendance were

Sh. R.V. Deshpande, Hon’ble Minister Large & Medium Scale Industries and Infrastructure Development, Government of Karnataka

Mr. G. Parameshwara Hon’ble Home Minister, Government of Karnataka

Smt. Lalitha Kumaramangalam Chairperson, National Commission for Women, Government of India

Smt. K. Ratna Prabha, IAS Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka

Ms. Jennifer Daubney Canadian Counsel General, Bengaluru

Ms. Margit Hellwig-Boette German Counsel General, Bengaluru

Ms. Elizabeth Vasquez Co-Founder & CEO, WEConnect International

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon

Dr. Priti G. Adani Chairperson, Adani Foundation

Mr. Bunty Bohra CEO, Goldman Sachs Services India

Mr. Sonjoy Chatterjee Chairman, Goldman Sachs, India

Mr. Krish Iyer CEO, Walmart India

Mr. Anil Sinha Chairman, Thinkthrough Consulting

Ms. Wenchi Yu Head of Corporate Engagement, Goldman Sachs

Mr. K.G. Alai CGM, SIDBI

Ms. P.V. Bharathi Executive Director, Canara Bank

Ms. Chetna Sinha Founder and Chair, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank

Mr. Bhadresh Pathak Senior President & Head – Business Banking, Yes Bank

Mr. Jitendra Chaddah Sr. Director, Operations and Strategy, Intel India

Mr. Gopal Pillai Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India

Mr. Sanjeev Bhandari Vice President, Accenture India

Ms. Abhishek Mathur Chief Procurement Manager – India & South Asia, IBM

Ms. Jenny Grieser Senior Director, Women Economic Empowerment, Walmart

Mr. Sher Singh Verick Deputy Director, DWT South Asia & Country Head India, ILO

Mr. Clement Chauvet Chief – Skills and Business Development, UNDP

Ms. Greta Schettler Vice President, WEConnect International

Ms. Vandana Verma Program Director, IKEA Foundation

Ms. Eika Chaturvedi Banerjee CEO, Future Learning

Ms. Sharmila Hardi IFC, Senior Manager, FIG

Ms. Roshika Singh Advisory, FIG South Asia, IFC

Ms. Mamta Kohli Senior Social Development Specialist, UKAid

Ms. Ragini Chaudhury Private Sector Development Advisor, UKAid

Ms. Katharina Kuehn Advisor, Private Sector Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Ms. Luna Shamsuddoha MD, Dohatec Media, Bangladesh

Ms. Chayaa Nanjappa Founder & Partner, Nectar Fresh Foods

Ms. Neelam Chhiber Co-Founder & Managing Director, Mother Earth

Ms. Manisha Raisinghani Co-Founder & CTO, LogiNext Solutions