Anita Agrawal is the CEO of the multi-award-winning Canadian jewellery manufacturing company Best Bargains, founder of the brand Jewels 4 Ever, and contract professor at Centennial College and George Brown College.
She is incredibly community-minded and has served on several community-based organizations and boards since beginning her professional career, including being the President of the Board of Directors of the Organization of Women in International Trade, the Toronto Chapter, from 2014 to 2018.
Anita's expertise in advocating for small businesses is unparalleled. Over the past 13 years, she has shared insight on this topic and women's issues in over 200 speaking engagements, including the Provincial Legislature, Toronto Region Board of Trade, BNN, CBC, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and other prominent platforms. Additionally, in 2019, she joined the Federal Government's committee for Gender and Trade policy, to advocate for small export-focused businesses by women.
Anita has also conducted first-of-its-kind research with the Better Way Alliance, a small business association of which she is a founding member, on how commercial tenants’ rights are neglected.
In her teaching roles, Anita has taught almost 1,500 students, primarily newcomer immigrants, since 2015, sharing her understanding of the challenges and issues young people face in the workplace, further demonstrated when she mentored 16 newcomer Canadians on job coaching through the Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence. She has also worked as an arts worker for 60+ minority arts organizations between 2010-2015 as a consultant to the Canada Council for the Arts.
Anita’s Journey in Education
With an Honours Bachelor of Science in human biology from the University of Toronto, Anita initially lacked formal business training but pursued the e-commerce post-graduate program at Centennial, a decision that helped shape her path to where she is today.
While at the college, she acquired coding, web design, marketing, and project management skills, which proved incredibly beneficial in various ways. For instance, Anita's business was one of the first Canadian Wholesalers to offer a fully functional e-commerce website in 2000, thanks to the knowledge she gained from the e-commerce program at Centennial.
After completing her program, Anita was hired by a boutique IT company as a project manager, further demonstrating the real-world value of Centennial's programs. Since graduating, she has catered to high-value clients specializing in e-commerce, such as eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and Poshmark.
Anita’s path in her education didn’t stop at Centennial—she went on to complete a master’s in social anthropology from Carleton University, has taken executive courses at The Rotman School of Business, and was chosen as one of 12 Canadian mentees for the Accenture Supplier diversity training program for 2013-2014
Awards and Recognition
In 2023, she was named one of WXN's top 100 most powerful women in Canada and, in the same year, an AGTA Spectrum award for her "I Dream in Pink" ring in the Gem Diva category, one the most prestigious gemstone jewellery design awards in North America.
Anita’s jewellery manufacturing company has also won its fair share of awards and recognition, including four INSTORE magazine jewellery design awards in 2021 and 2022, the Organization of Women in International Trade's - 2012 Ontario Woman Exporter of the Year award and the Profit W100 in 2010. Her company was also one of the first in the jewelry category approached by Walmart Canada upon launching their online store.
Since then, she has acquired even more clients in e-commerce as a drop-shipper and direct vendor within Canada and internationally, including Stone and Strand, The RealReal, TD Rewards, Airmiles, and Avon, to name a few.
To add to Anita’s incredible repertoire, she took to the Centennial stage to lead a TEDxCentennialCollegeToronto talk on women running for office—something she has experience with, having run as both a provincial and federal political candidate in 2007 and 2008.
Anita’s passion and determination shine bright as she continues excelling as an industry expert and sought-after entrepreneur.