‘I attracted highest number of members during the pandemic’

HYDERABAD:  The pandemic year has been a tough one for people for different reasons. For Usharani Manne, who became the chairperson of FICCI Flo last year, the challenge was to retain member subscriptions, and also attract new members. As the world shifted online, this entrepreneur had to rely on her ingenuity to devise new ways to keep the members hooked. 

“In the pre-pandemic world, there used to be many opportunities for members to network and interact at various plush locations in the city. With all these activities coming to a halt, members started questioning the need to pay subscription fees for virtual events. Another challenge that I faced was learning to organise programmes online. It was a technological challenge, and I am proud to say I could sail through it in no time,” said Usharani, who is the founder-director of Polmon Instruments.  

Her long entrepreneurial journey has taught her to take up challenges head-on. In order to sustain the interests of the members, she made sure that there was at least one online event every week which could impart training and skills to the members.  “I brought in eminent speakers who could share their pandemic experiences with all of us. I approached premier institutions in Hyderabad and signed MoUs with them to conduct workshops.

We focused on startups to learn how they were keeping themselves afloat in such a challenging time,” she added. As part of these initiatives, IIIT held a boot camp for FICCI members. They held a one-month mentoring programme in which the members could pitch in their business ideas. In collaboration with IIT-Hyderabad, they held a two-day workshop in which fashion experts talked about how they were practising sustainable fashion practices by using technology developed by IIT.

The virtual platform made it possible for a fashion designer from Africa share her experiences. As a result of her endeavours, the pandemic year saw the highest number of subscriptions and new members in the history of the organisation. “My vision is ‘live empowered’. The year was a challenging one, but it helped me grow as a businesswoman and person,” said Usharani.