Bend’s own Rita Hansen, head of OnBoard Dynamics, has been selected to be part of a delegation of U.S. entrepreneurs, investors and more headed to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the end of this month. The eighth annual summit with take place in Hyderabad, India, and highlight the theme Women First, Prosperity for All–focusing on supporting women entrepreneurs and economic growth.
“I love that the summit is focused on women entrepreneurs,” Rita says. “The opportunity to showcase our technology and tell our story on an international stage is also really exciting.”
Bend-based OnBoard Dynamics has created a mobile unit that compresses natural gas, making it easier to fuel commercial natural gas-powered vehicle fleets on-the-go, especially those that aren’t near a CNG refueling station. OBDI recently announced a multimillion deal with Linamar, a Canadian manufacturer that will produce the mobile compressor units.
Rita plans to meet with a potential OBDI customer in India before the conference. Then she’ll join 1,500 other global entrepreneurs and ecosystem supporters for two-and-a-half days of “training and mentoring sessions, networking, and investment matchmaking,” according to the GES. In addition to Rita, the U.S. delegation includes at least four other Oregonians: Angela Jackson, co-managing director of the Portland Seed Fund; Nitin Rai, managing director of Portland-based Elevate Capital and charter member of TiE Oregon; and Patti White, CEO of Hemex Health. If you were at BVC 2016, you might recall Hemex Health won the conference’s first-ever social impact track competition.
The GES focuses on four main industries–healthcare and life sciences, energy and infrastructure, digital economy and fintech, and media and entertainment. The conference agenda includes a mix of breakout sessions, master classes and workshops. This is the first time that the GES has been held in South Asia. Hyderabad seems to be an ideal location. The city is home to “T-Hub, India’s largest startup incubator, has a robust startup ecosystem, a presence of major U.S. tech firms, and supportive government policies in place to facilitate emerging entrepreneurs,” according to GES.
Rita has been not only an inspiring CEO, but a great advocate for women in STEM here in Central Oregon. She noted that the agenda “looks fascinating and that she’s especially interested in encouraging the success of women entrepreneurs, and advancing women in STEM.” Enjoy your trip, and congratulations on being selected.