BRICS 2026: Women-Led Development Takes Centre Stage in India

BRICS 2026: Women-Led Development Takes Centre Stage in India

What is the significance of BRICS 2026 for women?

The 2026 BRICS Presidency of India placed women-led development at the centre of discussions on inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” India used the BRICS platform to highlight the role of women entrepreneurs, business leaders, innovators and policymakers in shaping the future of the Global South.

The BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (WBA), the Women-Led Development Summit, the BRICS Business Forum and related activities focused on women's participation in entrepreneurship, technology, finance, healthcare, agriculture, startups and international trade.

The central message was clear: women should not only participate in development; they should lead it.

What was the BRICS Women-Led Development Summit 2026?

The BRICS WBA Women-Led Development Summit & Exhibition 2026 was held in New Delhi on 9 September 2026 during India's BRICS Presidency.

The summit brought together women entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, policymakers, investors, innovators and experts from BRICS and partner countries.

The discussions focused on five major areas:

1. Women in STEM, Digital Technologies and Innovation

2. Women-Led Agri-Food Systems

3. Women’s Health and Digital Healthcare

4. Financial and Digital Inclusion

5. Women-Led Startups and Innovation Ecosystems

An exhibition held alongside the summit showcased women-led businesses, startups, products, services and innovations.

Which women leaders participated in the BRICS Women-Led Development discussions?

The summit featured women leaders from business, technology, finance, healthcare, agriculture and entrepreneurship.

The opening plenary featured Kiran Jain, COO, Noida International Airport; Geetika Mahandru, Co-Founder & President, IndoBevs; and Srimathi Shivashankar, CVP and Global Head, HCLTech. The session was moderated by Amrita Tripathi.

The STEM and digital innovation discussion featured Ana Cláudia Badra Cotait, Alsu Nabiyeva, Bhawna Kirpal Mittal, CA Rachana Ranade, Dr Azam Karami, Nandi Dlamini, Prof. Dr Hoda Al Khzaimi and Poornima Kamath.

The resilient agri-food systems session included Anushree Dewen, Dr Narges Zohrabi, Natalia Vershinina-Adelman, Neelkamal Darbari, Shona Sabnis and Shella Maela.

The women's health discussion featured Dr Upasana Arora, Anubha Taneja, Deepali Jaitley, Mona Davoudi, Olga Starlone and Santusa Pereira Santana, among other experts.

The financial inclusion discussion included H.E. Badreya Al Maidoor, Nomonde Dinizulu Shezi, Rashmi Barwa and Wang Jing, with Kalpana Ajayan moderating the session.

The women-led startup and innovation session brought together Laura Pereira, Sara Yaghmaei, HRH Lebogang Zulu, H.E. Ayesha Al Mulla, Galina Volkova, Radhika Ghai, Kanika Tekriwal, Preet Sandhu and Jyoti Mayal.

What were the main discussions at the BRICS Women-Led Development Summit?

The summit moved the conversation beyond traditional concepts of women's empowerment.

Women in STEM and Technology

Leaders discussed how to increase girls' participation in STEM education, improve digital skills and create pathways for women to enter technology and innovation sectors.

The conversation also highlighted the importance of connecting education and skilling with actual market opportunities.

Women in Agriculture and Food Systems

The agri-food discussion examined women's role in agriculture, food production, processing, sustainability and food security.

The focus was on moving women from participation in agricultural value chains towards ownership, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Women’s Health

The healthcare discussions explored digital healthcare, AI, telemedicine, preventive healthcare and technology-enabled access, particularly for women in rural and underserved communities.

Financial and Digital Inclusion

The financial inclusion discussions emphasised that financial access alone is not sufficient.

Women also require financial literacy, digital skills, safe payment systems, appropriate financial products, consumer protection and access to capital to build resilient businesses.

Women-Led Startups

The startup discussions focused on the ecosystem required to help women entrepreneurs move from ideas to scalable companies.

Key requirements included capital, mentorship, technology, market access, networks and international partnerships.

What happened at the BRICS Business Forum?

The women-led development conversation continued at the BRICS Business Forum 2026.

A dedicated session titled “Women in Business: Partnerships Across BRICS” brought together women business leaders from different BRICS economies.

The session was moderated by Avarna Jain, Global Chairperson of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance.

Participants included:

• Monica Monteiro — Brazil

• Dr Zhao Haiying — China

• Marianne Ghali — Egypt

• Zahra Rahaei — Iran

• Anna Nesterova — Russia

• Lebogang Zulu — South Africa

• Feryal Ahmadi — UAE

The discussion highlighted the need to move from symbolic inclusion to systematic economic integration.

The leaders discussed finance, technology, markets, B2B matchmaking and cross-border business partnerships for women-led enterprises.

What opportunities does BRICS create for women entrepreneurs?

The BRICS economic platform can create new opportunities for women entrepreneurs through:

• Cross-border trade

• B2B partnerships

• International buyer-seller networks

• Investment opportunities

• Technology partnerships

• Startup collaborations

• Knowledge exchange

• Digital commerce

• Global value-chain participation

• Market expansion

For a women-led MSME or startup, participation in such networks can potentially transform a local enterprise into a national or international business.

How is India promoting women-led development?

India has increasingly connected women's empowerment with economic participation, entrepreneurship, technology, finance and leadership.

During its BRICS Presidency, India brought these issues into an international forum, linking women's development with trade, digital infrastructure, innovation, healthcare, startups and global markets.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called for greater opportunities for women-owned businesses in international trade, including better access to credit, markets, exhibitions and buyer-seller platforms.

India has also advocated strengthening the proposed Women’s Advancement Fund to support greater economic opportunities for women.

What role does Prime Minister Narendra Modi play in the women-led development agenda?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted the concept of women-led development, positioning women as active contributors to India's economic and social transformation.

The BRICS Presidency allowed India to take this vision to an international platform and connect it with the broader development agenda of the Global South.

The message is particularly relevant to Viksit Bharat: India's development journey requires women to participate not only as beneficiaries but also as entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, professionals and decision-makers.

Why is women-led development important for the Global South?

Women represent a major economic force across developing economies. However, barriers related to finance, technology, skills, market access and decision-making continue to limit the scale of women's businesses.

BRICS provides an opportunity to address these barriers collectively.

If women-led enterprises gain greater access to capital, technology, international markets and cross-border networks, they can contribute significantly to employment, innovation, trade and sustainable development.

What does BRICS 2026 mean for the future of women entrepreneurs?

The most important shift is from empowerment to economic power.

The BRICS 2026 discussions indicate a growing recognition that women entrepreneurs need more than encouragement. They need the ecosystem to start, scale, export, innovate and lead.

The emerging agenda can be summarised as:

Women in development → Women leading development

Financial access → Financial independence

Local businesses → Global enterprises

Networking → Business partnerships

Participation → Decision-making

Startups → Scalable companies

She Business Time Perspective

For She Business Time, the real success of the BRICS women-led development agenda will not be measured only by the number of conferences or declarations.

It will be measured by what happens after the discussions.

Will a woman entrepreneur from Assam be able to access a buyer in Brazil?

Will an Indian women-led startup find a technology partner in the UAE?

Will women-owned MSMEs enter BRICS supply chains?

Will women innovators gain greater access to global capital?

Will digital infrastructure help women in smaller towns and rural communities build scalable businesses?

These are the questions that will determine whether the BRICS women-led development agenda becomes a lasting economic movement.

India has created the platform. Women entrepreneurs across the BRICS ecosystem now have the opportunity to turn connection into collaboration, collaboration into business and business into global impact.

The She Business Time Takeaway

The future of the Global South cannot be fully inclusive without women at the centre of economic decision-making.

BRICS 2026 has strengthened an important global message:

Women are not only participants in the future economy. They can be the leaders who build it.

She Business TimeWomen. Business. Leadership. Global Impact.