– By Edul Daver-WZCC Global President –

Let me start by wishing our Community a very Happy Parsi New Year! Yes 2020 is certainly different but with creativity we can make it just as meaningful and enjoyable!

In May 2020, ‘A Bright Star In The Service Of Our Community’ enumerated 26 activities which clearly demonstrate the values WZCC brings to the Community. Today I will focus on one item which has been our priority for the past three years. It was very evident that WZCC had to play an active role to facilitate debt and equity financing of promising small and medium size business enterprises and professionals. This was a challenging proposition but we found a practical solution by collaborating with WZO Trust Funds. To date we have given out 25 lakh loans, without interest burden, to six worthy businesses.

In 2019, the WZCC Youth Wing staged an Equity Financing Event at the 7WZYC in Los Angeles. It was a Shark Tank type event (now called ‘WZCC Tiger’s Den’) where budding companies pitched for equity financing to potential investors. It was a smashing success and WZCC was now in the business of Debt Financing (in India) and Equity Financing globally. A second Tiger’s Den event was held in January 2020, in Lonavala.

Expanding its wings, WZCC along with FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) formed a completely new independent entity, ZEDF (Zarathushti Entrepreneurship Development Foundation), to enable Debt Financing in North America and elsewhere. Objective is to collect $ 1 Million and start accepting funding applications by January 1, 2021.

In short, WZCC has arrived and the seeds it is planting today will reap added value fruits in the years to come!