Ms. Jahnabi
Phookan has been appointed as National President of FICCI Ladies Organization
(FLO), the oldest women-led and -focused business chamber of Southeast
Asia and the women’s wing of the apex chamber Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). She took over from outgoing National
President Ms. Harjinder Kaur Talwar at the 36th FLO ANNUAL SESSION- Rising
Above Covid Challenges in the presence of Honourable Lok Sabha Speaker
Shri Om Birla. FICCI FLO represents over 8000 women entrepreneurs and
professionals across 17 chapters nationally and works aggressively towards
promoting economic empowerment and equal opportunities for women.
Ms. Jahnabi
Phookan is the 37th National President of FICCI FLO. In her role as the
National President, she will focus on empowering women with entrepreneurship
capabilities and professional excellence, enabling them to take up new
challenges and maximise opportunities in the new normal post Covid.
Passionate
about women’s empowerment, Jahnabi strongly advocates and tirelessly works
towards building sustainable livelihoods for women’s economic upliftment.
Jahnabi is an entrepreneur, a co-founder of two National Tourism
Award-winning companies: Jungle Travels India and Assam Bengal Navigation
Company under JTI Group. Her companies are encompassed in travel &
hospitality - boutique river cruising, small group specialised tours, tea and
textiles - all of which empower young people’s livelihoods, especially women
and their communities.
Jungle Travels India (JTI Group) was established in 1989, to draw
tourists and nature enthusiasts to the unexplored North-east Indian jungles,
wildlife, dense forests and water bodies. JTI Group was the first IATA agent of
the entire Northeast and still continues today as the most experienced, bespoke
outbound and inbound tour operator in this region. Assam Bengal Navigation Co.
(ABN) established in 2003, is the pioneering long-distance river cruise company
in India with a portfolio of
boutique river cruise ships, houseboats and safari lodges along the Brahmaputra
and Ganges Rivers . Worth mentioning that, 5% of
every room booked in their portfolio is contributed to the ABN Foundation that
supports projects in education, environment and community development.
Jahnabi has
worked for the causes of women empowerment, equality, social justice and skill
development in order to make them more confident, employable and independent.
She has worked for the cause of women weavers of Assam and runs her own signature
line as Tribal Heritage and Lahe Looms since 2014. Jahnabi started the platform
‘KONYAK’ with her partner from Nagaland in 2008 for the artisans and weavers of
Northeast India with a curated collection of
handlooms, handicrafts and artefacts from this region. This platform
effectively combined textiles and tourism to help artisans and weavers learn,
adapt and stay in sync with the latest in designs and techniques in order to
garner a regular source of income.
Jahnabi is a graduate from Calcutta
University with a PG Diploma from
Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi . She is also an alumnus of Indiana University , USA . As an alumna of the US Govt
Exchange Program, she has been the US
Citizens Warden for Assam
since 2011. She has been conferred with Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt.) Honoris
Causa by Assam Downtown University
in 2018 for her outstanding work and contribution in eco-tourism and women
empowerment. Ms Phookan is also a member of the National Board of Indian
Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) now under the Ministry of Entrepreneurship
and Skill Development, since 2012.
Ms Phookan was the Founder member and Founder Vice Chairperson of FLO
Northeast chapter in 2007. During her tenure, she conceptualised the ‘Iconic
Women of Northeast’ Awards that honours 5 women from across diverse genres in
the NE who have overcome difficulties to achieve their dreams. Jahnabi was a
recipient of the FLO Outstanding Women Achievers Award in December 2013.