Celebration of International Women’s Day, 2022

Date: Mar 11, 2022 | Time: | Venue/Mode:

Cotton University Women’s Forum (CUWF) in association with the Department of Mass Communication, Journalism and Media Studies (MCJMS), Cotton University organised a talk titled ‘Life Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship’ with Jahnabi Phookan, renowned entrepreneur and former National President, women’s wing, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) FLO as the guest speaker at Room no. 311 (Seminar Room), MCB Building in the University here today.

The programme flagged off with an introduction by Dr Dulumoni Das, Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, Cotton University which was then followed by a welcome address by Dr Jonali Devi, President (i/c), CUWF.

Prof Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, Vice Chancellor, Cotton University during his inaugural address highlighted how women are progressing day by day and are able to showcase excellence in almost every field. This was followed by a short speech by Dr Abhijit Barthakur, Head (i/c), Department of MCJMS who once again welcomed the audience and the guest speaker.

During her talk, Phookan underlined her journey as an entrepreneur and the lessons she learnt along the way for over 30 years now.

“It all started with a dream to bring tourists into the Jungles of Assam and the name Jungle Travels was born. We set up shop from a wing of a residential home, tucked in a quiet bylane, with a monthly of Rs 1000/- in 1989 and that’s how it all began”, she said. During her talk, Phookan reflected on ten learnings from her journey- “whatever you do, do it differently; look for the gap in the market; challenge the status quo; grow the communities around your business; look beyond your business and see new horizons; new horizons bring new business opportunities; create your own market position; and work for the greater good.”

The programme was largely attended by the officers, teaching as well as non-teaching members and students of the University. 

The event concluded with a vote of thanks from Dr Kuntala Das, Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Journalism and Media Studies, Cotton University. 

Jahnabi Phookan is currently the Senior Advisor for the UNCTAD (United Nations Trade and Development) Empretec model which works with the HiEERA programme (High Impact Entrepreneurs from Emerging Regions for Impact). She is also the National Advisor, Northeast for the Delphic Council of India under the Aegis of International Delphic Council, Berlin, Germany.