Mumbai, July 16 - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will take time off her busy schedule to indulge in a cause dear to her heart, women's empowerment, at a centre in south Mumbai.

She has agreed to spend about an hour interacting with the volunteers and artisans of Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a non-government organisation founded by Ela Bhatt, said SEWA Director Reema Nanavaty.

'She is expected to go around and view the collections at the SEWA centre at Hansiba Creations on Napean Sea Road, interact with our shareholders and women artisans during her visit,' Nanavaty told IANS from Ahmedabad Thursday.

SEWA leaders, including Bhatt -- whom Clinton had earlier described as 'her hero', Nanavaty and its general secretary Jyoti Macwan -- shall also update Clinton on the progress and current status of Global Women's Trade Finance Council.

The council was founded in 2007 in New York with Clinton and Bhatt as co-chairpersons, Nanavaty said.

Its objectives are to explore ways and means to highlight women's efforts at the global level and link them to the world markets, she explained.