Vaishali Umrikar's guest appearances

Vaishali Umrikar

Social Entrepreneur

Disruptors for GOOD | Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises

Carrie Rich

Stephen Garten

Liza Moiseeva

Karen Lee

Dan Miller

Hamilton Perkins

Tweet Jukebox

Paul Bradley

Nathan Chan

Brad Feld

Safeena Husain

Jim Smith

Paul Shapiro

Stacy Flynn

Liz Forkin Bohannon

OwlTail

After a successful Indiegogo campaign, funded at 104%, The Empowerment Bag is now on the market selling fashionable and functional bags that empower women at-risk of sexual exploitation in West Bengal, India.The brand works with a collective of women they were connected to through Common Objective. They provide sewing training, literacy skills, and of course, employment with fair wages, with a goal of helping their women become financially independent.Founder, Vaishali Umrikar, talks about her journey creating The Empowerment Bag starting from a passion to fight sex trafficking from her high school days. Although not a designer, she talks about how the experience has been an exciting challenge as she learns to incorporate creativity into her strategic and innovative idea.Check out:ImpactInvestor.io - Discover impact investors from around the world.Podcast Made with TransistorPodcast cover design Made with CanvaBuild amazing web platforms with Webflow

After a successful Indiegogo campaign, funded at 104%, The Empowerment Bag is now on the market <a href="https://theempowermentbag.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">selling fashionable and functional bags</a> that empower women at-risk of sexual exploitation in West Bengal, India.The brand works with a collective of women they were connected to through <a href="https://www.commonobjective.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Common Objective</a>. They provide sewing training, literacy skills, and of course, employment with fair wages, with a goal of helping their women become financially independent.Founder, Vaishali Umrikar, talks about her journey creating The Empowerment Bag starting from a passion to fight sex trafficking from her high school days. Although not a designer, she talks about how the experience has been an exciting challenge as she learns to incorporate creativity into her strategic and innovative idea. Check out:<a href="https://www.impactinvestor.io/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ImpactInvestor.io</a> - Discover impact investors from around the world.Podcast <a href="https://transistor.fm/?via=grant" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Made with Transistor</a> Podcast cover design <a href="https://canva.pxf.io/c/1211587/647168/10068?adcampaigngroup=Pro_LP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Made with Canva</a> Build amazing web platforms with <a href="https://webflow.com/?rfsn=4064140.9054ba&amp;utm_medium=affiliate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Webflow</a>

Vaishali Umrikar // Founder of The Empowerment Bag

The Empowerment Bag is an eco-friendly brand of bags, that employs women at risk of sex trafficking.  Vaishali Umrikar is a passionate social entrepreneur who is committed to fighting human trafficking. While she was in high school, she read the book, The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek. This book awakened her to the realities of modern-day human trafficking. She became involved in anti-trafficking advocacy groups throughout high school and college. Since then, Vaishali has worked with the Australian Government Office for Women, Chicago Probation Sex Offender Unit, and Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. After graduating from college and beginning her corporate career, Vaishali realized her passion was to end human trafficking. So, she decided to launch her own business. She thought of several product ideas. But it was when she couldn't find an ethical and affordable line of bags, she decided to create one herself. The project became The Empowerment Bag. The Empowerment Bag is a brand of practical &amp; eco-friendly bags that empower survivors of sex trafficking. The bags are made by women at risk of exploitation in West Bengal, India. These women are given an alternative to the sex trade through literacy training, sewing skills, and employment with fair wages. Five percent of sales go to New Light, a nonprofit that provides shelter, education, and healthcare to trafficked women and their children. The Crowdfunding Campaign  The Empowerment Bag is crowdfunding on Indiegogo until September 27, 2018. Crowdfunding allows people to purchase the bags at up to 35% off retail price. After the crowdfunding period ends, the bags will be available at regular price on The Empowerment Bag website or through authorized retailers. Social Entrepreneurship Quotes from Vaishali Umrikar:  “Our bags are made by women at risk of sexual exploitation in West Bengal, India.” “A big part of The Empowerment Bag is breaking the cycle of exploitation.” “That made me feel powerful about the immigrant experience.” “Whatever you do in life, do it with all your passion.” “I always had this feminist push in me, even before I knew what feminism was.” “Something did not feel right about not being treated the same.” “I wanted to do something more meaningful.” “I was missing that passion and that fire that I had all through high school and college.” “I started listening to podcasts and reading books about being your own boss.” Social Entrepreneurship Resources:   The Empowerment Bag on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-empowerment-bag/x/4581013 The Empowerment Bag website: https://theempowermentbag.com The Empowerment Bag on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theempowermentbag The Empowerment Bag on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempowermentbag Common Objective: https://www.commonobjective.co New Light: http://www.newlightindia.org UpWork: https://www.upwork.com 

The Empowerment Bag is an eco-friendly brand of bags, that employs women at risk of sex trafficking. Vaishali Umrikar is a passionate social entrepreneur who is committed to fighting human trafficking. While she was in high school, she read the book, <a href="https://amzn.to/2Nqg145" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade</a> by Victor Malarek. This book awakened her to the realities of modern-day human trafficking. She became involved in anti-trafficking advocacy groups throughout high school and college. Since then, Vaishali has worked with the Australian Government Office for Women, Chicago Probation Sex Offender Unit, and Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. After graduating from college and beginning her corporate career, Vaishali realized her passion was to end human trafficking. So, she decided to launch her own business. She thought of several product ideas. But it was when she couldn't find an ethical and affordable line of bags, she decided to create one herself. The project became <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-empowerment-bag/x/4581013" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Empowerment Bag</a>. The Empowerment Bag is a brand of practical &amp; eco-friendly bags that empower survivors of sex trafficking. The bags are made by women at risk of exploitation in West Bengal, India. These women are given an alternative to the sex trade through literacy training, sewing skills, and employment with fair wages. Five percent of sales go to New Light, a nonprofit that provides shelter, education, and healthcare to trafficked women and their children. The Crowdfunding Campaign The Empowerment Bag is <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-empowerment-bag/x/4581013" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">crowdfunding on Indiegogo</a> until September 27, 2018. Crowdfunding allows people to purchase the bags at up to 35% off retail price. After the crowdfunding period ends, the bags will be available at regular price on <a href="https://theempowermentbag.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Empowerment Bag</a> website or through authorized retailers. Social Entrepreneurship Quotes from Vaishali Umrikar: “Our bags are made by women at risk of sexual exploitation in West Bengal, India.” “A big part of The Empowerment Bag is breaking the cycle of exploitation.” “That made me feel powerful about the immigrant experience.” “Whatever you do in life, do it with all your passion.” “I always had this feminist push in me, even before I knew what feminism was.” “Something did not feel right about not being treated the same.” “I wanted to do something more meaningful.” “I was missing that passion and that fire that I had all through high school and college.” “I started listening to podcasts and reading books about being your own boss.” Social Entrepreneurship Resources: <ul> <li>The Empowerment Bag on Indiegogo: <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-empowerment-bag/x/4581013" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-empowerment-bag/x/4581013</a></li> <li>The Empowerment Bag website: <a href="https://theempowermentbag.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://theempowermentbag.com</a></li> <li>The Empowerment Bag on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theempowermentbag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/theempowermentbag</a></li> <li>The Empowerment Bag on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theempowermentbag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/theempowermentbag</a></li> <li>Common Objective: <a href="https://www.commonobjective.co" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.commonobjective.co</a></li> <li>New Light: <a href="http://www.newlightindia.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.newlightindia.org</a></li> <li>UpWork: <a href="https://www.upwork.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.upwork.com</a></li> </ul>

The Empowerment Bag: A Bag to End Human Trafficking, with Vaishali Umrikar