Leading trade and management consultant, Jagat Shah, who is all set to undertake a 15,452-km-long 'Mentor-on-Road' journey in the US, plans to reach out to women entrepreneurs in that country and connect them with their Indian counterparts for a broader market.

Supported by US Commercial Services (USCS), the US Department of Commerce and the US-India Importers’ Council (USIIC), the Ahmedabad-based consultant will undertake the 78-day-long drive across America in the June-September period in two legs. During this yatra, he will criss-cross 30 cities across 24 states.

On the eve of International Women’s Day (Wednesday), he told BusinessLine that Mentor-on Road-USA plans to meet women business empowerment institutions across the US in an attempt to connect them with Indian women business institutions. The objective of this interaction is to increase the participation of Indian women in their own country’s economic activity, which currently stands at a low of 9 per cent, excluding agriculture.

The Mentor-on-Road aims at providing a platform for women entrepreneurs in the US to connect them to their Indian counterparts for a broader market, he added.

During his drive across the US, Shah will be meeting American SMEs, start-ups, women-run businesses and institutions, corporates for CSR activities and the Indian Diaspora in a bid to connect them to businesses and CSR activities in India.

In 2015-16, Shah, as Mentor-on-Road, had criss-crossed India covering 9,500-km across 24 states and 35 cities encouraging entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs to understand their challenges in ease of doing business and presented a report to the Centre with possible solutions for consideration as part of its 'Make in India' drive.

On January 10, 2017, during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017, the USCS and the US Department of Commerce had launched the Mentor on Road-USA website at a reception hosted by USIIC in Gandhinagar.

The Mentor on Road–USA is a road drive planned by Shah, Founder of Global Network and Cluster Pulse firms that offer consultancy. He is also the Foreign Representative of the Government of Manitoba (Canada) in India for trade and investment.

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