Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday met heads of three fintech companies, who are in the Odisha capital for Black Swan summit, to strengthen collaborations aimed at youth skilling, women’s empowerment, and entrepreneurship in the state.
The high-level discussions took place at Lok Seva Bhawan, where the Chief Minister welcomed Chairman of Singapore-based GFTN Ravi Menon, CEO of Accion Michael Schlein, and Chairman of Ant International Douglas Feagin.
According to an official release, CM Majhi spotlighted the transformative steps taken by his government over the past two years. He emphasised major investments in infrastructure development and focused empowerment programmes for farmers and women, which he said are now yielding significant results.
The CM sought active support from the visiting leaders to further empower Odisha’s youth and women through proven entrepreneurship models and innovative business opportunities.
Menon shared encouraging updates on the ongoing partnership between GFTN and Odisha. He informed the Chief Minister that the first cohort of 195 students from the state, trained in FinTech under a collaborative skilling programme, has successfully completed their training. Many of these graduates have already secured employment in various corporate organis
ations, including placements in Singapore and other international markets.
Menon announced plans to elevate the partnership to the next level, including the organisation of boot camps to foster entrepreneurship among the newly-skilled youth.
Michael Schlein and Douglas Feagin spoke about their recent visits to several Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Odisha. They praised the impressive business models and performance of the women-led enterprises. Both leaders expressed strong interest in supporting these SHGs as they transition into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). They committed to providing comprehensive assistance, including technology adoption, e-commerce integration, marketing support, and guidance to enable the women entrepreneurs to export their products globally.
Drawing from successful experiments in other countries, they expressed confidence in replicating similar outcomes in Odisha.
On Wednesday, IT Minister Mukesh Mahaling informed about signing of MoUs between Global Finance and Technology Network and the Startup Policy Forum, and between Corporate Champions of BharatNetra and the IT Department of Odisha during the summit. These partnerships reinforce Odisha’s commitment to building a future-ready, innovation-driven digital economy with global linkages, he further said in a post on X.
“The summit stands out as a powerful platform where ideas translate into action—unlocking new jobs, global opportunities, advanced technologies, and innovation, while strengthening global financial networks through collaboration and a shared vision,” he added.