Fashion and textile designer, Pooja Agarwal is the new chairperson at the Ahmedabad chapter of FICCI ladies organisation (FLO). Agarwal, credited to be among those who helped bring the FLO chapter to Ahmedabad, belongs to a Marwadi family.
This feisty woman with a mind of her own wants to empower her counterparts through knowledge. Agarwal who has travelled far and wide within India settled down in Ahmedabad post marriage.
She wants to do something for women.
"During my tenure as a chairperson, I want to empower women through knowledge. By knowledge I don't mean serious and technical topics alone but also lighter areas like food, health, awareness among others," said Agarwal.
Hailing from Assam, she did her schooling from Nainital and later finished her higher studies in Kolkata, before settling down in Ahmedabad.
Apart from having held exhibitions every year, this talented woman has designed for Bipasha Basu, Koena Mitra and other tinsel town actors at an early stage of their career.
Today even after 12 years of marriage, she continues to dabble in designing as a career and will soon launch her own boutique called 'Ashitivika' in Ahmedabad.
Agarwal who believes in being young at heart is the mother of two boys Jash, 10 and Arnav, 7. "Though we are based in Ahmedabad, we do not want to limit ourselves to women from the city," said Agarwal.
Wanting FLO to be called a Gujarat chapter rather than an Ahmedabad one, Agrawal said that she has already taken a step in this direction with the inclusion of Rupa Patel from Vadodara as secretary in the committee.
FLO, which came to Ahmedabad in April 2010, was chaired by entrepreneur and author Sonal Ambani with Agarwal as the vice-chairperson. "The first year of FLO in Ahmedabad was very successful under Sonal Ambani. This year as I have taken up I have a lot many events lined up for FLO women."
FLO was established in 1983 as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). After its first year in Ahmedabad, the organisation now has as many as 101 members and is positive on getting more in the years to come.
Apart from entrepreneurs, professors and banking professionals several homemakers are also part of this chapter.
FLO which endeavours to empower women through various events also focuses on women-related legal and social issues.
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