By CGTN America

The fifth annual Forbes Women’s Summit kicked off in New York City with a performance by Lennon & Maisy, a sister duo from Canada. 

Among the celebrity guest speakers, reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian tackled branding, while actress Kerry Washington discussed her work with domestic abuse victims.

US reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian speaks on stage with Steve Forbes at the 2017 Forbes Women's Summit on Tuesday at Spring Studios in New York. /VCG Photo

From the world of business Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, was in attendance, as well as executives from Facebook, Pfizer and more.

The event organized by the business magazine normally attracts an abundance of female entrepreneurs who attend in the hope of growing their business through networking. But many argue that the biggest draw is inspirational, meeting other successful women to give them the courage to continue pushing forward with their dreams.

“Sometimes you can get really bogged down on the predominantly male venture capitalists that are in the industry, saying what you are doing doesn’t matter,” Saheedat Abdulwahab, founder of The Posh Net said. “This is a great space for us women to come together and really support each other.”

“We hear so often from entrepreneurs that, while it’s never been more of an exciting time to strike out on your own and start your own business, it still can be a really lonely experience,” Moira Forbes, Executive Vice President at Forbes Media said.

From left to right: Journalist Moira Forbes, actress Kerry Washington, president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards and author Janet Mock attend the 2017 Forbes Women's Summit. /VCG Photo

Forbes said one of the summit’s goals is to help create a community for female entrepreneurs.

Aditi Malhotra owns a gourmet chocolate shop in New York. She’s been a part of that community for a few years after being a featured chef at the Forbes 30 under 30 Food Festival.

“Every time I leave an event like this, I feel more confident to accomplish anything that I’ve ever set my mind to or I’ve always wanted to do for the shop,” Malhotra said.

The hope is that more women will feel inspired to take the plunge like Malhotra to become their own boss and an agent of positive change.

CGTN’s Karina Huber spoke with Anu Duggal, a venture capitalist and founder of Female Founders Fund, about what made her want to go from being an entrepreneur to an investor.

Duggal also shared with CGTN her views on the future of women in the e-commerce world.