Presentation by Archana Bhatnagar,

Chief Strategist WEConnect India Initiative

WEConnect

Copyright © 2010 WEConnect International, Inc., All Rights Reserved

 Mission
• Facilitate sustainable economic growth by increasing
opportunities for women-owned businesses to succeed
in the global value chain.
Vision
• We envision a world where global value chains benefit
from the full participation of women-owned businesses;
where corporations, entrepreneurs, governments and
NGOs collaborate to ensure inclusive and sustainable
economic development.

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 History
• Quantum Leaps and leading multinational corporations
that are members of the Women’s Business Enterprise
National Council (WBENC) in the U.S. collaborated to
launch WEConnect International as a non-profit in 2009
• WEConnect International is led by an independent Board
of Directors elected by and from its corporate members
• WEConnect International is now established in Canada
and Europe, is launching initiatives in India and China,
and has been invited to focus on a number of developing
economies through strategic partnerships
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 WEConnect International Members
• Accenture • IBM
• Alcatel-Lucent • Intel
• AT&T • Manpower
• Boeing • Marriott
• Cisco Systems • Motorola
• Citigroup • Pfizer
• Dun & Bradstreet • PG&E
• Ernst & Young • Verizon
• Exxon Mobile • Walmart
• HP

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 What is Supplier Diversity and Inclusivity?
• A business program that encourages the use of
historically underutilized vendors as suppliers
• Examples of “diverse” business owners include:
– Ethnic Minorities
– Women
– Disabled Persons (especially veterans)
– Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Transgender Persons

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 Why Multinationals Have Supplier Diversity
• Create more competitive and dynamic supply options
• Reduce costs and demonstrate return on investment
• Improve the total value of their offerings
• Seek out and encourage innovation
• Contribute to real economic opportunity in target markets
• Enhance their image and brand

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 Multinational Corporation Case Study
• AT&T is the largest telecommunications holding company
in the world by revenue
• AT&T’s Supplier Diversity Programs promote, increase
and improve the quality of the participation of small,
minority, women and disabled veteran businesses
• AT&T spends over US$2 billion with women-owned
companies each year—and can trace several hundred
contract wins to its supplier diversity program
• AT&T values the innovation, cost savings, and quality of
service it receives from diverse businesses
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 Supplier Diversity Trends
• 97% of the Fortune 500 corporations in the U.S. have
programs to source from diverse suppliers
• 80% require first and second level suppliers to report on
the diversity of their U.S. suppliers
• 65% intend to develop global supplier diversity programs
in the next 5 years
• These corporations are starting to ask vendors to source
from innovative new suppliers and report on that “spend”

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 Why Women?
• According to The World Bank, women-owned businesses
represent 25-33% of all private businesses in the world
• Women do 66%of the world’s work, receive 10% of the
world’s income, and own 1% of the means of production
• Women make 70% of purchasing decisions in the home
so their impact on value chain creation is key
• Women represent 50% of the world’s population, but they
are almost invisible in the global value chain as suppliers
to corporations and governments

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 Certification Standards
• Certification – confirmation that a business is at least 51%
owned, managed and controlled by one or more women
• Ownership – at least 51% ownership of the company is
held by one or more women
• Management – the company is lead / managed by a
Principal Executive Officer who is a woman
• Control – the key business decisions regarding the
company’s finances, operations, personnel and strategy
are made by a woman
• Certification is not evidence of size, quality or sustainability
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 Certification in India
- Self-registration will be available to women owned
businesses in January of 2011
- Certification will be available to pilot participants in
select major cities in the first three months of 2011
- Certification will be available to all women’s
business enterprises in select major cities in April of
2011
- Additional cities will be added as certification
assessors are trained across the country

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 Certification Process
• Self-register on WEConnect International Global Portal
• Apply and pay for certification on Portal
• Certification lead from portal sent to local service provider
• Service provider conducts site visit and document review
• Site visit and document review results sent to WEConnect
• WEConnect issues certification if applicant meets criteria
• Certified business have access to the global knowledge
and networks offered by WEConnect International

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 Impact
• Potential – WEConnect International’s global network
spends over $700 billion on products and services per year
• Vision – WEConnect International has the power to
influence at least 1% of that global spend
• Result – $7 billion can be available to women owned
businesses that are able to compete for contracts
• Collaboration – The success of this global effort will
depend on a high level of collaboration and local support

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 Contact

www.WEConnectInternational.org

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