About us
Ganguli & associates
Rupa’s Business Ethos: development can only be achieved with a strong business case to back it.
Rupa Ganguli
Managing director, Clothing Connect
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Rupa Ganguli has literally travelled the world of textiles and fashion in her career. She has seen the industry from the shop floor working in sales for GAP, to running her own fashion label started on a mere 2000 rupee investment. Her portfolio of career achievements varies from breathing life into a traditional dying craft industry in the Himalayas with sensitive development, introducing innovative design and business methods, to managing high-level projects with the International Trade Centre, as Sector Advisor for Textiles and Clothing and working on landmark technological and development projects worldwide.
Inspired by her experiences working for the ITC; Rupa launched Clothing Connect in 2009 to provide high-level consultancy to businesses to give clients the solutions and business edge needed in today’s global market. Her knowledge, energy and experience has turned around loss making companies and grown small cottage enterprises into profitable successes. Rupa has brought innovation to developing companies and new methodologies for organizations with her fresh problem solving approach.
Through her work Rupa developed a passion for empowering women in the textiles industry so in 2010 Rupa set up the not for profit foundation: SPINNA Circle, which has been supported by the UN and partnered with the US State Department, NatWest Bank and the Ethical Fashion Forum. SPINNA Circle works to empower women artisans and entrepreneurs through training, mentoring and technology to bring their talents to the world market. Taking this to the next level, she launched inclusivetrade.com, a revolutionary online retail portal as a channel for the many artisans and to provide consumers with the ability to have a positive impact with every purchase. Inclusive trade promotes micro and small businesses (MSMEs) globally through e commerce and technology.
Rupa is a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and was one of the six women shortlisted across the UK for the honorable ‘Asian Women of Achievement’ Award 2017 for Science and Technology.
Rajesh Bheda
Managing director, Rajesh Bheda Consulting
Dr. Rajesh Bheda, Managing Director of Rajesh Bheda Consulting, is a leading consultant, researcher and educator with over three decades of contribution to apparel industry. He is known for his celebrated book ‘Managing Productivity in the Apparel Industry’ and inspiring supply-chain collaboration for win-win performance improvement. He is consultant to International Trade Centre- Geneva, International Labour Organisation, EBRD, CBI-Netherlands, Asian Productivity Organisation-Japan and several Govt. bodies.
Before forming RBC, he was Professor and Chairperson of Fashion Technology Department at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Dr. Bheda holds a Doctorate in Management from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi and has undergone fellowship at the Manchester Metropolitan University UK.
Specialties: Sector and firm level competitiveness enhancement strategies, Enterprise Performance Enhancement through Productivity Improvement and Quality Management and Training Systems specially in Fashion Industry.
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“I tremendously enjoy working with Rupa Ganguli, founder of Clothing Connect because she is a passionate young leader who combines deep insights in the international trade in textiles and clothing with the development needs of potential supply bases across the globe. I have had the priviledge of working with her on export competitiveness development projects for SMEs in Guatemala and Myanmar on one hand and speaking about women’s participation in the international textile trade at WTO Public Forum.”
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Doreen Tan
Chief Executive of TaF.tc
Doreen Tan is the Chief Executive of the Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre (TaF.tc).
Doreen is responsible for developing TaF.tc as the leading training provider for the textile and apparel industry in Asia. She is actively involved in initiatives that enhance the industry’s capability and capacity development. Since 2004, she has conducted training to executives of MNCs and small medium enterprise (SMEs) in the various segments of the fashion industry in various countries. TaF.tc has its own digital provides flexible learning through digital learning.
Under her leadership, TaF.tc developed the Workforce Skills Qualification Textile and Fashion Industry Framework that covers over 80 competency standards and assessments for the textile and fashion industry in Singapore. TaF.tc is appointed by Singapore government agency https://www.skillsfuture.sg/ as the Continuous Education and Training Centre for the textile and fashion industry.
She has worked with companies such as Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee (Mauritius), Adidas-Solomon International Sourcing Ltd, Nike Sourcing Singapore Pte Ltd, Li & Fung , Ghim Li Holdings Co Pte Ltd, Ocean Sky International Ltd, Sing Lun Holdings Ltd, Robinson & Co., (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, Club21 (S) Pte Ltd, Gimmil Industrial Pte Ltd, Kohl's USA, Charles and Keith and Kwang Lim Trading (Korea), etc.
As an International Consultant with International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO) of United Nations and Agence Francaise de Developpement (www.afd.fr), she has completed industry and enterprise level projects in the Textiles and Clothing Industry in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Guatemala, India (Mumbai, Tirupur, Bangalore, Delhi and Jaipur), Mauritius, Romania, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
