Rose International
Co-Sponsors International
Forum On Women's Entrepreneurship

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For Immediate Release

Rose International Co-Sponsors International Forum On Women's Entrepreneurship

CEO Himanshu Bhatia speaks on the importance of gaining access to corporate markets.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (June 10, 2004) - Rose International, an information technology and business services company, recently helped sponsor the Accelerating Women's Entrepreneurship Forum, an international conference on women's entrepreneurship held in Istanbul, Turkey, and co-hosted by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Washington, D.C.-based Project Tsunami, IBM, Kagider, Kosgeb and the Turkish Ministry of Industry in Turkey. In addition to its sponsorship, Rose's CEO,Himanshu Bhatia , was a speaker at the event, discussing the importance of women entrepreneurs gaining access to corporate markets.

"Rose International is committed to accelerating the cause of women's entrepreneurship on a global basis," said Mrs. Bhatia. "Whatever we can do to help, we will."

Because of Rose's success as a woman-owned enterprise, Mrs. Bhatia was asked to participate in discussions at the conference, and share her company's successes, advice and her suggestions on promoting women's entrepreneurship and getting these businesses access to the right people in corporations all over the world.

Delegates to the international business forum (held June 5 - 7) called on governments, corporations, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations and foundations to increase their support for women's entrepreneurship.

The forum focused on ways of promoting women entrepreneurs around the world. Hundreds of delegates from over 25 countries attended the event, which featured panels on research, finance, international markets, best practices, training and access to corporate and international markets.

Virginia Littlejohn, CEO of Project Tsunami, said that the gathering in Istanbul "can create a tidal wave of action - a tsunami - for the women entrepreneurs who are creating new businesses, new opportunities, new jobs and economic growth in countries around the world."

Much of the discussion focused on the unique challenges facing women entrepreneurs in the developing world. Delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America spoke of the precarious situation faced by women entrepreneurs in their countries and called for stronger efforts to help them grow their businesses, improve educational opportunities for girls and young women and to fight for economic empowerment globally.

Andrina Lever, President of Toronto-based Lever Enterprises and the founder of the Foundation for Canadian Women Entrepreneurs, identified access to capital as a top priority, along with providing increased access to employment benefits and social safety net programs, mentoring programs, business skills training, government procurement contracts, international markets and research.

Julie Weeks, Executive Director of the DC-based National Women's Business Council, said that the women's enterprise development has reached an important crossroads: "This Forum has seen an unprecedented gathering of experts, sharing of successes and challenges, best practices and lessons learned. Moving forward, the goal will be to keep the momentum alive."

The Forum's sponsors included IBM, Delta Airlines, Rose International, Mercedes-Benz, Ceylan Inter-Continental, VIP Congress, the Direct Selling Education Foundation, Garanti Emeklilik and Canakkale Seramik.

About Rose International

Founded in 1993, St. Louis-based Rose International is a leader in providing information technology solutions to corporations and government agencies nationwide. Rose has consistently been recognized as one of the pre-eminent IT consulting firms in the country, and its CEO, Himanshu Bhatia, is considered a leader in the industry. Mrs. Bhatia was recently recognized with the National Entrepreneurial Success Award, given by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and in 2001, she was named the SBA Small-Business Person of the Year for the State of Missouri. The company has been named to the St. Louis Regional Technology Top/Fast 50 for five consecutive years, the Inc 500 for two consecutive years and the Working Woman 500 the past two years, among many other honors.

For more information on Rose International, visit the company's website at www.roseint.com or email pr@roseint.com.