With much that is valued about women entrepreneurship as a whole having been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-hosts of the 5th Annual Women in Business Expo, the Sonia Noel Foundation, is hoping that today’s virtual event which will use the interior of the Pegasus Hotel as its visual backdrop, will help to generate an enhanced measure of public enthusiasm for the fashion sector, particularly, less than a month away from Christmas.
As part of the coverage which the Stabroek Business has offered on women entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic, the newspaper has been in touch with high-profile local fashion designer and event planner, Sonia Noel, who last week said that she believed that today’s event will test the mettle and creativity of women in the fashion industry and women in business, as a whole. It is, she added, also a test of loyalty to the industry by local fashion enthusiasts as well as supporters of women entrepreneurship.
While the experienced event planner has told the Stabroek Business that fashion events, by their very nature, ought, ideally, to be “live events,” the forced option of staging today’s event virtually, is a manifestation of the determination of the organisers to “have the show go on.” She says that the pursuit of the virtual option demonstrates the determination of the organisers to take account of the safety protocols that are in force at this time, while being mindful of the importance of “pushing ourselves” to bring a measure of good feeling into people’s lives.
“We did not host the annual event in March because of the pandemic. The main objective of hosting this virtual event is to generate business for the holiday season and beyond for women with small businesses. Last year, we made phenomenal inroads. Over 50 exhibitors from across Guyana participated in the EXPO, inclusive of a number of first-time exhibitors. We wish to make our virtual edition a true celebration of entrepreneurship, positioning the entrepreneurs a step closer to their goals,” Noel told Stabroek Business.
According to Noel, the effort that was made to stage this year’s expo was made against the background of the organisers’ recognition of the contribution which the event has already made, over the course of the five events that it has staged over the years, to bringing women’s entrepreneurship into the limelight.
Founder of Innovair Spa and Women in Business enthusiast, Jo Ann Forde, said in an invited comment that apart from having “launched many small businesses and provided personal and professional development training for the exhibitors,” Women in Business had also provided a sisterhood which is very special. “There are simply not enough words that can describe the value that the Women in Business Expo has added to my own life and by extension, to the lives of my family members. It has not only elevated my personal pursuits to ‘another level’ but also provided a sisterhood I can depend on,” Jo Anne said in her invited comment.
And Noel told Stabroek Business that while the non-staging of an actual event this year was “a disappointment,” she was “intentional” about staging an event that will benefit the industry and more particularly, women with small businesses.
We are living in very challenging times that can be daunting but we have to find a way to grow through knowing this too shall pass.
We want to have our women businesses generate sales through this event and build a momentum to go in 2021,” Noel added.
Pursuit of the option of a virtual event comes after the organisers had twice scheduled then postponed the staging of this year’s Women in Business event on account of the distractions of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the political imbroglio arising out of the March 2 general elections.
The postponement first shifted the event from March 21-22 and afterwards, from April 4 and 5, this year.
