Opening Remarks by Ambassador Nancy J. Powell at Citi Micro Enterprise Awards, Siri Fort Auditorium

New Delhi | January 12, 2013

(As Prepared for Delivery)

Namaste, as-salamu alaykum, and good afternoon.  Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia; distinguished members of the Governing Council; honored award winners; ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to be here tonight because I personally value the work of good corporate citizens such as Citi.     This celebration has been and will be echoed throughout the world, because while we celebrate the ingenuity, the Jugaad, of these Indian microentrepreurs, they are in fact joining Citi’s global micro enterprise alumni who bring positive social impact through their sustainable business operations the world over.  From a fried plantain vendor in Belize to cosmetics specialists in Budapest, Citi’s Micro Enterprise Awards have supported entrepreneurs from dozens of countries.   Since the inauguration of the Micro Enterprise Awards in 2004, Citi has worked to empower micro entrepreneurs who, with the right tools, can make a difference both in their communities and globally. Citi’s work does not stop with these awards.  As a good corporate citizen in India, Citi funds programs that promote financial literacy for children, supports a micro-finance program for women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and provides grants to train young people.   These corporate programs also inspire grass-roots-level work.  I know many of you, Citi employees, take the personal initiative to give back to your communities by volunteering with local NGOs and teaching in neighborhood schools.  As much as this event is meant to honor the five micro enterprise award winners, it is important also to recognize all of you for your contributions to your communities.  I applaud the good work you are doing in India.   The U.S. Secretary of State also recognizes the contributions of American companies through an annual corporate excellence award.  I have the great pleasure to review a large number of nominations each year that detail the great contributions to India that our U.S. companies, like Citi, are making.  Good corporate citizens build stronger Indo-U.S. business ties and bring benefits to the citizens and economies of both our countries.  One U.S. company provides community technology skills for young adults in rural and underserved communities.  Another is working to improve the quality and accessibility of education for over 40,000 children and promotes economic opportunities and increased incomes for more than 9,000 rural households.  And there are many more examples.    Looking at the bigger picture, the presence of so many American businesses in India has helped trade in goods and services between our two countries reach nearly $100 billion dollars in total value.  That means jobs, opportunities, and a better standard of living for citizens in both countries.   Investment flows have also grown.  When I served here as the Minister Counselor for Political Affairs in the 1990s, bilateral trade was $3 billion and the investment flows were negligible.  Today U.S. direct investment into India is nearly $30 billion, and India is growing quickly in terms of its investment in the U.S.  In 2011 Indian foreign direct investment in the U.S. reached $3.8 billion, and no wonder, nearly 49 percent of the high-tech startups in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. are owned by Indians or Indian-Americans.  Companies like Citi are the catalysts for this economic connectivity.   The mutually beneficial economic relationship between the U.S. and India depends on the effort we exert to strengthen it.  Both companies and governments must make strong efforts.  For that reason, I applaud the recent decisions by the government to further liberalize and invite foreign investors into new segments of the economy.  Opening new avenues for companies from both of our countries to continue to exchange ideas, best practices, and grow businesses together will benefit all of us in the long-run.  For instance, in Hyderabad hundreds of multinational and Indian corporations employ tens of thousands of engineers in research and development centers here that feed new products and processes into manufacturing and delivery chains that span the globe. Every day, U.S. companies like Citi help to make the U.S.-India economic relationship stronger.   Tonight is about five innovators and entrepreneurs that may be called “micro,” and whose impact is anything but miniscule.  SAMTFMACS has more than 10,000 members producing fair-trade coffee, DNPPCL assists more than 4,000 women living in 230 mountain villages produce honey and organic spices, and Swathi Joythi provides financial services to over 5,000 underprivileged women in Bangalore. Other organizations here tonight are recognized for their innovative business practices.  KEC is successfully leveraging local knowledge and traditional skills to manufacture high-quality, contemporary textile products many of which are exported.  The Be! Fund has developed a hybrid form of finance for small entrepreneurs and—I can't help but point out—is also a grant recipient of the U.S. Agency for International Development. It is a privilege to hear about the good work that these organizations do and I have to say that I am honored to be in the presence of such dedicated and creative individuals.  Not only do I urge you to continue this good work, but suggest you look around and help foster and cultivate next year’s batch of award recipients.  Your success here is not just valuable in the enterprise you created.  Your success is also about inspiring other entrepreneurs to have the creativeness, inventiveness, and self-confidence to begin their own enterprises.  Thank you for sharing your great work and giving back to your communities.  Congratulations on your success.

Namaste, as-salamu alaykum, and good afternoon. 

Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia; distinguished members of the Governing Council; honored award winners; ladies and gentlemen.

I am honored to be here tonight because I personally value the work of good corporate citizens such as Citi.    

This celebration has been and will be echoed throughout the world, because while we celebrate the ingenuity, the Jugaad, of these Indian microentrepreurs, they are in fact joining Citi’s global micro enterprise alumni who bring positive social impact through their sustainable business operations the world over.  From a fried plantain vendor in Belize to cosmetics specialists in Budapest, Citi’s Micro Enterprise Awards have supported entrepreneurs from dozens of countries.  

Since the inauguration of the Micro Enterprise Awards in 2004, Citi has worked to empower micro entrepreneurs who, with the right tools, can make a difference both in their communities and globally.

Citi’s work does not stop with these awards.  As a good corporate citizen in India, Citi funds programs that promote financial literacy for children, supports a micro-finance program for women in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and provides grants to train young people.  
These corporate programs also inspire grass-roots-level work.  I know many of you, Citi employees, take the personal initiative to give back to your communities by volunteering with local NGOs and teaching in neighborhood schools.  As much as this event is meant to honor the five micro enterprise award winners, it is important also to recognize all of you for your contributions to your communities.  I applaud the good work you are doing in India.  

The U.S. Secretary of State also recognizes the contributions of American companies through an annual corporate excellence award.  I have the great pleasure to review a large number of nominations each year that detail the great contributions to India that our U.S. companies, like Citi, are making.  Good corporate citizens build stronger Indo-U.S. business ties and bring benefits to the citizens and economies of both our countries.  One U.S. company provides community technology skills for young adults in rural and underserved communities.  Another is working to improve the quality and accessibility of education for over 40,000 children and promotes economic opportunities and increased incomes for more than 9,000 rural households.  And there are many more examples.   

Looking at the bigger picture, the presence of so many American businesses in India has helped trade in goods and services between our two countries reach nearly $100 billion dollars in total value.  That means jobs, opportunities, and a better standard of living for citizens in both countries.  

Investment flows have also grown.  When I served here as the Minister Counselor for Political Affairs in the 1990s, bilateral trade was $3 billion and the investment flows were negligible.  Today U.S. direct investment into India is nearly $30 billion, and India is growing quickly in terms of its investment in the U.S.  In 2011 Indian foreign direct investment in the U.S. reached $3.8 billion, and no wonder, nearly 49 percent of the high-tech startups in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. are owned by Indians or Indian-Americans.  Companies like Citi are the catalysts for this economic connectivity.  

The mutually beneficial economic relationship between the U.S. and India depends on the effort we exert to strengthen it.  Both companies and governments must make strong efforts.  For that reason, I applaud the recent decisions by the government to further liberalize and invite foreign investors into new segments of the economy.  Opening new avenues for companies from both of our countries to continue to exchange ideas, best practices, and grow businesses together will benefit all of us in the long-run.  For instance, in Hyderabad hundreds of multinational and Indian corporations employ tens of thousands of engineers in research and development centers here that feed new products and processes into manufacturing and delivery chains that span the globe. Every day, U.S. companies like Citi help to make the U.S.-India economic relationship stronger.  

Tonight is about five innovators and entrepreneurs that may be called “micro,” and whose impact is anything but miniscule.  SAMTFMACS has more than 10,000 members producing fair-trade coffee, DNPPCL assists more than 4,000 women living in 230 mountain villages produce honey and organic spices, and Swathi Joythi provides financial services to over 5,000 underprivileged women in Bangalore.

Other organizations here tonight are recognized for their innovative business practices.  KEC is successfully leveraging local knowledge and traditional skills to manufacture high-quality, contemporary textile products many of which are exported.  The Be! Fund has developed a hybrid form of finance for small entrepreneurs and—I can't help but point out—is also a grant recipient of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

It is a privilege to hear about the good work that these organizations do and I have to say that I am honored to be in the presence of such dedicated and creative individuals.  Not only do I urge you to continue this good work, but suggest you look around and help foster and cultivate next year’s batch of award recipients.  Your success here is not just valuable in the enterprise you created.  Your success is also about inspiring other entrepreneurs to have the creativeness, inventiveness, and self-confidence to begin their own enterprises. 

Thank you for sharing your great work and giving back to your communities.  Congratulations on your success.