On March 7, 2012, OWIT-Ottawa, in partnership with the Trade Facilitation Office Canada and the International Chamber of Commerce Canada, hosted a breakfast in celebration of International Women’s Day entitled “Paving the Way in the BRICs”.
The event took place at Hotel Indigo in downtown Ottawa and featured two distinguished speakers from Export Development Canada. Peter Nesbitt, Regional Vice-President for Asia, and Alison Nankivell, Principle of the Head of Fund Investments, Equity Team, spoke about opportunities and success stories of women in international trade in India and China.
Both speakers have extensive experience living and working in the Asian region. Mr. Nesbitt shared his experiences living and working in Bangladesh and India, and provided insight into the cultural challenges faced by women (local and expatriates) doing business in Bangladesh and India, including the contrasts between the two countries, based on his wife’s experience. Ms. Nankivell’s career has focused on China and she highlighted her personal observations and experiences of the market and the country. Their lengthy careers allowed both speakers to outline developments and changes they have observed in the region over the past couple of decades. Especially interesting were success stories of women in the region who have achieved high levels of success either by starting their own firms or rising through the ranks of well-known, established companies such as Tata. Women have found success in a variety of areas including finance, real estate and manufacturing. Many opportunities still exist for women in the area, whether they are local or expatriates.
The event was a great success and OWIT-Ottawa is pleased to announce several new members as a result of their participation!
For further details please feel free to contact us at info@owit-ottawa.ca.