33% of Goan Startups are Founded by Women, Higher than National Average

Goa has seen a surge in women-led startups. According to recent reports, Goa is leading the way in gender diversity within the startup ecosystem. As per the reports, 33% of the 225 registered startups in Goa have been founded by women entrepreneurs. This is significantly higher than India's national average of 18% for women-led startups.

The growth in women-founded startups in Goa is a positive sign of the changing dynamics in the entrepreneurial landscape. It's encouraging to see women entrepreneurs leveraging state policies to grow their businesses, particularly in sectors like hospitality and services. Initiatives like the Goa Startup Yatra and various programs and masterclasses are also playing a crucial role in supporting these entrepreneurs.

This trend not only contributes to economic expansion but also serves as an inspiration for the next generation of women founders. It's a testament to the innovative spirit and determination of women who are making significant strides in the tech industry and the startup ecosystem as a whole.

Some of the women-led startups are ASIER Solutions, I-Assist, Blurb Consultancy, Goenkart Digital World, Make it Happen, Tea Trunk, Contractzy, and many others. Most of these startups are from the hospitality and service sector.

These startups operate in various sectors, with many of them being active in hospitality and services. The state's supportive policies, initiatives like the Goa Startup Yatra, and incubators have played a crucial role in empowering these women entrepreneurs.

Some of the women founders said that the startup and IT promotion cell (SITPC) and the incubators have helped them launch their startups.

The success stories of these Goan Startups inspire the next generation of women founders, making Goa an emerging startup destination in the region.

Amazon India and GAME Tieup To Boost Rural Women Entrepreneurship via E-commerce

Amazon India and GAME will collaborate to empower 25k+ women entrepreneurs across India

• Partnership will provide women entrepreneurs with essential tools, resources, and training to succeed in the digital ecommerce ecosystem
• Aiming to foster inclusivity and drive economic growth within rural communities. 

Amazon India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ‘Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), to collaborate and promote digital growth of women entrepreneurs in India, especially in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities and beyond. Through this partnership, Amazon India will aim to support approximately 25,000 women entrepreneurs and artisans in their digital entrepreneurial journey. GAME is providing inputs in business capacity building, bridging digital marketing skill gaps and enabling them to aggregate as collected brands. With the objective of creating platform access and enabling financial independence for rural women entrepreneurs and artisans, this initiative will provide the necessary support and resources for them to thrive in the digital landscape.

The MOU between Amazon India and GAME aims to co-develop and facilitate broad-based entrepreneurship to accelerate and sustain the growth of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. Amazon Karigar & Saheli will offer workshops/training, onboarding and AM support for sellers involved in this entrepreneurship without any financial investment.. This aligns with Amazon's commitment to bolster India's economy and create millions of sustainable jobs by 2030, through partnerships within the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Further, women entrepreneurs will be provided with hands-on training and support on digital marketing initiatives, performance marketing, product listing optimization, and advertising techniques, equipping them to adapt to current and future trends in the digital marketplace. Additionally, they will gain access to valuable data-driven insights and metrics get better knowledge on customer behaviour and market trends.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Gaurav Bhatnagar Head of Seller Acquisition and Development at Amazon India said, “It is truly inspiring to witness women entrepreneurs nationwide harnessing the power e-commerce to build and grow their business. Through innovative products, they are catering to customer preferences and establishing scalable enterprises that contribute significantly to societal well-being and economy. We are honored to be a catalyst in their entrepreneurial journey through our Saheli program. Our steadfast commitment lies in facilitating worldwide customer access, thereby empowering these women to realize their full potential in the dynamic landscape of Digital India.”

Sharing his views on this occasion, Mr. Ketul Acharya, President, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, “We are delighted to have partnered with Amazon for the Saheli program. GAME's Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) program seeks to enable women entrepreneurs by enhancing their livelihood opportunities and connecting them with diverse platforms and economic partners. Through this partnership, WEE at GAME is supporting Amazon in solving large-scale ecosystem challenges to women's economic empowerment with access to training in the digital marketplace as well as research and data about access to new markets."

Amazon launched its special program for women entrepreneurs, ‘Amazon Saheli’ in 2017, which seeks to bring to the fore locally made products from women entrepreneurs and local women owned businesses in India. As part of this initiative, Amazon works with partners and woman entrepreneurs to drive digitization and to provide requisite tools to woman entrepreneurs to enable them to become successful in their digital endeavours. Since its inception, Saheli has digitized over 1.8 million rural, hyperlocal and urban women-led businesses through its partner network, selling selection of products such as apparel, jewellery, groceries, on the ecommerce marketplace. The products are sourced from different (NGOs) across India. More than 80,000+ women artisans are involved in this partnership and benefit from it. The artisans produce and sell these products to support their livelihoods.

Amazon India has provided numerous opportunities for women across its ecosystem, including Seller Partners, Operations Network Partners, Community Beneficiaries, Employees, and Associates, all of whom play crucial roles in positively impacting Amazon's diverse customer base throughout the country. The company has made significant strides in introducing various benefits, programs, and initiatives to empower women both within and outside its organization. These efforts reflect Amazon's dedication to women's empowerment and its unwavering commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within its ecosystem culture, thereby enhancing the overall Amazon experience.

In reaffirmation of its commitment to women's empowerment, Amazon India launches the third edition of the #SheIsAmazon campaign on the occasion of the 49th International Women’s Day, under the theme #InspireInclusion. This campaign highlights 49 distinct programs, initiatives, and benefits implemented by various entities within Amazon to empower women both within and beyond the company. These initiatives have played a significant role in advancing women's professional journeys and stand as symbols of Amazon's dedication to their empowerment.

The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in seeks to build the most customer-centric online destination for customers to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving them more of what they want – vast selection, competitive prices, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and convenient experience; and provide sellers with a world-class e-commerce marketplace.

About Amazon:

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

About Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME):

GAME intends to unlock the potential of Mass Entrepreneurship (ME) in India. Three prolific entrepreneurs, Ravi Venkatesan, Madan Padaki, and Mekin Maheshwari, started GAME in August 2018 as a backbone organisation that aligns the ecosystem and mobilises action to address systemic challenges to job creation in India. GAME intends to bring together a cross-section of alliances, partners, funders, and other players in the ecosystem who can help inspire an entrepreneurial movement across the country. Its mission is to catalyse an India-wide movement of mass entrepreneurship for the growth of both existing and new enterprises, resulting in 50 million new jobs by 2030, where women own 25% of the businesses. To know more, please visit: https://massentrepreneurship.org/

IIMA’s CIIE.CO Partners Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) To Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023 Supporting Financial Solutions for Women-owned MSMEs

Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023

The initiative Swanari Techsprint aims to support SMEs/MSMEs building gender transformative financial solutions, and making a positive impact on the financial inclusion landscape

IIMA’s CIIE.CO has joined hands with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to launch Swanari Techsprint 2023 - an initiative of RBIH - focuses on advancing ‘End to End Digital Straight Through Process (STP) Lending Solutions for Micro to Medium-sized Women-owned Enterprises’, empowering them to access the financial resources they need to flourish. This edition of Swanari Techsprint will aim to address the large credit gap faced by women owned MSMEs.

The Swanari Techsprint 2023 winners will have an opportunity to do a paid Proof of Concept (POC) with one of India’s leading financial institutions HDFC Bank, and pitch for fast track pre-seed investment at CIIE.CO. Selected startups will also gain access to CIIE.CO's extensive mentoring and networking opportunities, providing them with a strong foundation for growth and success.

Commenting on the partnership, Supriya Sharma from CIIE.CO expressed, "Swanari Techsprint 2023 aligns with our focus on financial inclusion, especially women’s financial inclusion. Women entrepreneurs own and lead less than 20% of the MSMEs in India. Among several other factors, access to capital is a huge barrier for women looking to set up and grow their businesses. We are thrilled to collaborate with RBIH to help address this massive need. We are sure that this will go a long way in supporting early stage startups that are committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs."

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub recognises the significance of ensuring women's financial inclusion as a driving force behind economic growth. RBIH's Swanari Program taps into technology and innovation to enable 'Frictionless Finance for Every Woman in India.' RBIH works closely with the ecosystem through its various programs to help build solutions to specific problem statements. The current edition of TechSprint focuses on narrowing the gender gap by fostering innovative digital STP lending solutions tailored for women entrepreneurs. By extending chosen startups the opportunity to tap into its extensive resources and networks, RBIH aspires to drive impactful change in the financial ecosystem.

Applications for Swanari Techsprint 2023 are now open, and interested startups are invited to apply by 11th September 2023. More about this initiative here.

Built at IIM Ahmedabad, CIIE.CO is the country’s leading entrepreneurship centre and early stage technology investing platform. CIIE.CO backs fearless entrepreneurs building disruptive solutions and stands with the startups at their risky early stages, when they need most support while there is hardly any available. Through the continuum of incubation, acceleration, capital and insights – CIIE.CO offers everything it takes for these driven entrepreneurs to make a superlative impact. CIIE.CO is a Centre of Excellence backed by the Government of India’s DST. Over the last 20 years, CIIE.CO has made equity investments in more than 350 startups, accelerated over 1500 and mentored over 5000 startups over the last 20 years.

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – is an organisation that enables frictionless finance to a billion Indians. RBIH functions as a focal platform, bringing together members of financial, technological and academic institutions, to promote and accelerate innovation across the financial sector. With a robust ecosystem that enables the exchange of ideas, research and development of prototypes, RBIH aims to not only strengthen the Indian financial system but also keep India at the forefront of global financial innovation.

NTPC Signs MoU with EDII-Ahmedabad To Empower Women in the Vicinity of NTPC Noida through Entrepreneurship

NTPC and EDII join hands to empower women through entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad, a 'Centre of Excellence' recognised by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the CSR Division of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) on Friday.

Under the MoA, EDII will facilitate New Enterprise Creation among the underprivileged women in the vicinity of NTPC Noida. EDII will ensure the setting up of a Cold Compressed Oil Unit for the benefit of underprivileged women. This initiative will be strengthened by appropriate training and handholding to the participating women. NTPC has taken this initiative as a part of its CSR activity of empowering women and making them entrepreneurial and self-sustaining. In all, 30 women from self-help groups will be rendered independent and empowered over one year.

EDII implements several programmes for women entrepreneurship and empowerment as a CSR initiative for various corporate houses such as Accenture, HSBC, TATA Communications, Amazon India, Facebook, ONGC, BAYER, HCL, etc. Thus far, through sensitisation programmes, entrepreneurship competency-building programmes, domain and skill training, networking and marketing exposure, and handholding support, the institute has reached out to more than 39,142 women across the country.

The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad was set up in 1983 as an autonomous and not-for-profit Institute with support of apex financial institutions - the IDBI Bank Ltd., IFCI Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India (SBI). The Government of Gujarat pledged twenty-three acres of land on which stands the majestic and sprawling EDII Campus. EDII has been recognized as the CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been listed as the Institute of National Importance by the Education Department, Govt. of Gujarat. For more information visit: www.ediindia.org

National Commission for Women (NCW) & EDII to Organise 100 Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs) for Potential Women Entrepreneurs Across India

The National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) has announced the launch of 100 Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs) for potential women entrepreneurs across the country. The first EAP out of the 100 to be organized across the country, was launched in Ujjain on Friday, by Chief Guest, Shri Mangubhai Patel, Hon’ble Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Guest of Honour, Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Women and Child Development, GoI, in the presence of dignitaries including Smt. Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, NCW; Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII; and Smt. Meenakshi Negi, Member Secretary, NCW.

The aim of the one-day EAP is to orient participating women to the benefits of adopting entrepreneurship as a career, learn the finer skills and overcome social, economic, and familial barriers to becoming entrepreneurs. The EAPs are aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills among women so that they could gain knowledge, skills and motivation to build their own businesses.

 

Speaking about the EAP, the Hon’ble Governor of MP, Shri Mangubhai Patel, said, “India is moving ahead with the vision of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. Development under women-led leadership is coming up big way and is getting accepted and recognised. Women associated with the Self Help Groups are moving forward significantly. They are showing the confidence of speaking about their success, their enterprises and their future plans. Women have progressed phenomenally under the initiatives implemented by the country under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister of the country. Rural areas have especially progressed with subsidy to women to set up enterprises. Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, training and development opportunities have opened up for women. I congratulate National Commission for Women and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India for this extraordinary initiative towards women empowerment through entrepreneurship.”

Emphasizing on the need for a conducive environment for women entrepreneurs, Dr. Munjpara, said, “We have been working towards taking forward India's women-led development agenda by accelerating women's leadership and empowerment in public as well as private sector. Women who are the backbone of our society play a pivotal role in shaping our future. Empowering them is not only our moral responsibility but also a necessary condition for sustainable development. This collaboration between National Commission for Women and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India will help build capacity of women entrepreneurs and also sensitize relevant stakeholders.”

Smt. Rekha Sharma said, “Women although are a critical part of society, still lag behind when it comes to economic empowerment and independence. Women need to be encouraged to become economically empowered. India has a conducive ecosystem to support women entrepreneurship. Given this, women are getting motivated to set up their MSMEs. Women entrepreneurs extend job opportunities to other women, and that is the need of the hour. Women need to speak about their success, network and step forth. I am sure with the support of Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), all of this will be possible. If institutions like EDII handhold us in our endeavour, we will sure succeed.”

Speaking about the collaboration, Dr Sunil Shukla, said, “Over the last ten years, India has noticeably progressed and that has been possible only because the women populace of the country has been encouraged to become financially independent. I am happy to announce that NCW and EDII have collaborated to promote women entrepreneurship. This will strengthen the country immensely.”

About Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII)

The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad was set up in 1983 as an autonomous and not-for-profit Institute with support of apex financial institutions - the IDBI Bank Ltd., IFCI Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India (SBI). The Government of Gujarat pledged twenty-three acres of land on which stands the majestic and sprawling EDII Campus. EDII has been recognized as the CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been listed as the Institute of National Importance by the Education Department, Govt. of Gujarat. For more information visit: www.ediindia.org

About National Commission for Women

About National Commission for Women The National Commission for Women (NCW) was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (Act No.20 of 1990 of Govt. of India) to review the Constitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redress of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women. The mission of NCW is to strive towards enabling women to achieve equality and equal participation in all spheres of life by securing her due rights and entitlements through suitable policy formulation, legislative measures, effective enforcement of laws, implementation of schemes/policies and devising strategies for solution of specific problems/situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women.

Jayesh Ranjan Launches Women Entrepreneurs Club, WEDO Hyderabad Chapter at Business Women Expo 2023

Jayesh Ranjan seen unveiling the book cover of the book titled VISIONARY WOMEN COLLECTIVE at the WEDO meeting.  The book will be launched soon

Telangana Govt is planning to come out with a Single Window facility which will take care of all business women’s needs such as product validation and others: Jayesh Ranjan, Principle Secretary, Govt of Telangana

The facility will even have a centre at Mandal level to support rural women entrepreneurs: Jayesh Ranjan.

WEDO forays into Telangana State

It is no longer women empowerment, it is equality now: Kadambari Umapathy, Founder of WEDO

Women are very important for the success of women: Nawab Mir Nasir Ali Khan, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Days of women associated with Papad, Pickle, and Masala making are over. I don’t demean them. But, what I want to convey is that women are for bigger things, high-value entrepreneurship, and breaking stereotypes work. They are into a high level of entrepreneurship now. They are breaking the status quo said Mr Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Govt of Telangana, addressing a gathering of 500 plus women entrepreneurs.

Mr Ranjan was the Chief Guest at the function hosted by Chennai-based WEDO—Women Entrepreneurship Development Organization, a Chennai-based Pan-Indian accelerator exclusively for business women at Business Women Expo 2023, at Hitex on Sunday morning.

Jayesh Ranjan seen at the launch of Women Entrepreneur Club  WEDO Hyderabad Chapter at Business Women Expo 2023 at Hitex

Jayesh Ranjan

Nawab Mir Nasir Ali Khan, Honorary Consul of Republic of Kazakhstan for Telangana & AP seen with VISIONARY WOMEN AWARD WINNERS  at WEDO meet held at Business Women Expo at Hitex

WEDO forayed into Telangana. It launched the Women Entrepreneurs Club, WEDO Hyderabad Chapter through the hands of Mr Jayesh Ranjan.

The local chapter of WEDO will be an ideal platform for women entrepreneurs, aspirants, institutions and incubators, it was announced.

WEDO empowers women entrepreneurs by providing them with the right knowledge, right implementation strategies, mentoring and community support.

Speaking on the occasion Jayesh Ranjan said Telangana state is committed to nurturing women’s entrepreneurship. To take it to next level, the state will be coming out with a single-window facility to take care of all the needs and support required by women entrepreneurs.

Explaining salient features of the facility which is the first of its kind in India and which is slated for launch in a month’s time will have a support system which will validate the product in the very initial stages of its journey. If it has zero strength it will be told beforehand so that valuable time is saved.

Explaining further he added that it will provide every possible support such as branding, and packaging. This is open to all educated or illiterate across Telangana. The single window facility will even have its presence at the Mandal level to encourage and support rural women, and rural entrepreneurs. This is a milestone development. The back-end work is already happening. Mr KT Rao also shared about it recently at the International Women’s Day Celebration, he told the audience.

He told the women in the audience to create a voice collectively for their mutual growth.

Mr Ranjan also presented badges to Ms Sanjana Dubey, President of the Hyderabad Chapter of WEDO and Women Entrepreneurs Club.

Speaking on the occasion Ms Sanjana said, it already has got fifty-plus members joining the chapter and more are in the pipeline.

She introduced all the Hyderabad Chapter members to Mr Jayesh Ranjan, who welcomed them by presenting them with a Badge.

Mr Ranjan also unveiled the Cover of a book titled ‘Visionary Women Collective’. The book will be out soon in the market. The book will have stories of 100 worthy businesswomen in India.

Nawab Mir Nasir Ali Khan, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Telangana & Andhra Pradesh, who was guest of honour said though I am a diplomat, before that I am an entrepreneur. Women are very important for the success of any man. There are many women leaders in business and politics like former Prime Minister of India Smt Indira Gandhi. You all have a mettle and it is just a matter of time before you prove it.

He later gave away Visionary Women Awards to several distinguished women from across India.

Kadambari Umapathy  Founder of WEDO

Giving her welcome address Kadambari Umapathy, Founder of WEDO said it is no longer an issue of women’s empowerment. It is the time for equality. Both men and women are equal and partners in each other’s progress. Let us together work and contribute to the development of our great nation. Let us together grow.

WEDO organised day-long sessions that include Art of Raising Capital; Top 10 Legal Know-Hows for Women; Storytelling etc by World Storytelling Championship; Insights on Property Investments by a specialist, Visionary women collective launch, a session on Payment gateway "Ippo Pay", a session on 'Art of Raising Capital. This session was taken by a Fundenable Investment Specialist.

Nykaa PRO Boosts Entrepreneurial Dreams of Young Women Through a Special Make-Up Training Program

Nykaa PRO, Nykaa’s content & commerce platform for beauty professionals, in its continued efforts to grow the ecosystem of beauty professionals in India, has collaborated with celebrated make-up artist, Kajol R Paswwan to provide a 3-day training to 12 young women from low-income groups. The partnership is an extension of Nykaa PRO’s #GroWithPRO philosophy, which aims to empower individuals into creating livelihoods through a career in beauty and grooming.

Nykaa PRO partnered with Mumbai based youth-led organisations, Project Baala and Junoon to identify and reach out to these exceptionally bright and young women for the course. These non-profits work towards empowering the youth from low-income groups and aims to make them employment ready.

Nykaa PRO partners with Kajol R Paswwan as a part of its Ongoing Initiative #GroWithPRO

True to this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #EmbraceEquity- by leveling the playing field with equal education and opportunities for everyone, this program by Nykaa PRO was designed in partnership with Kajol R Paswwan to share her knowledge and experience of the professional beauty industry with beginners. The three-day training, focused on scope, career opportunities and challenges of the industry while also equipping the young women with hands-on and personalised training in basics of make-up and hairstyling techniques and prepared them for future opportunities.

To fuel their journey as a professional make-up artist/hairstylist, Nykaa PRO provided each student with a starter-kit of make-up and hair essentials worth INR 10,000, a PRO guide, and an exceptional opportunity to intern with Kajol R Paswwan.

Nykaa PRO was launched in 2018 as a membership-led content and commerce platform designed to cater to beauty professionals. The platform features a range of professional beauty products with a selection of exclusive offers and masterclasses for people working in the beauty industry. Through its omnichannel offering, Nykaa PRO offers its services across over 27,800 Indian pin codes.

About Nykaa:

Nykaa (FSN E-Commerce) was founded in 2012 by Indian entrepreneur Falguni Nayar with a vision of bringing inspiration and joy to people, everywhere, every single day. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’, meaning one in the spotlight, Nykaa has emerged as one of India’s leading lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platforms. Since its launch, Nykaa expanded its product categories by introducing online platforms Nykaa Fashion, Nykaa Man, and Superstore. Delivering a comprehensive Omnichannel e-commerce experience, Nykaa offers over 4,500 brands and over 4.6 million product SKUs through its website and mobile applications.

The Nykaa Guarantee ensures that products available at Nykaa are 100% authentic and sourced directly from the brand or authorized retailers. Through engaging and educational content, digital marketing, social media influence, robust CRM strategies, and the Nykaa Network community platform, Nykaa has built a loyal community of millions of beauty and fashion enthusiasts. Over the years, Nykaa has received many accolades for disrupting the beauty market. At the 17th India Business Leader Award in 2022, Nykaa was awarded as the Disruptor of the Year and Kantar’s Brandz List features Nykaa as one of most valuable brands in India. www.nykaa.com

President Droupadi Launches herSTART – A Startup Platform of Gujarat Univ. for Women Entrepreneurs

In a major boost to women entrepreneurs in the nation, Hon’ble President also launches herSTART Incubator and herSTART Accelerator, established with the support of UNICEF

The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, launched 'herSTART' – a start-up platform of Gujarat University in Ahmedabad today (October 4, 2022). She also inaugurated/laid the foundation stone virtually from Gujarat University for various projects of the government of Gujarat related to education and tribal development

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that it is a matter of pride for Gujarat University that not only Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi but also the father of India's space program, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai; former chairman of ISRO, Dr. K. Kasturirangan; and Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah are alumni of this university

The President said that it is natural for an institution which has alumni like Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, to be a pioneer in science, research and innovation. She noted that there are more than 450 start-ups working in the campus of Gujarat University. And more than 125 women-led start-ups are being actively supported by this university. Also around 15,000 women entrepreneurs are associated online or offline with this initiative. She said that she was happy to inaugurate a start-up platform dedicated to women entrepreneurs in such a start-up friendly university. She expressed confidence that this platform will not only boost innovation and start-up efforts of women entrepreneurs but also prove to be an effective platform in connecting women entrepreneurs with various government and private enterprises

The President said that she was also happy to inaugurate projects like Sainik School, Girls Literacy Residential School and Eklavya Model Residential School related to education, especially girls and tribal education in Gujarat. Because the foundation stone for further strengthening India's position in science, research and innovation will be built through school education.

The President said that Gujarat has made remarkable progress in the field of education among other sectors. The school drop-out rate in the state has come down from 22 percent to 1.37 percent in the last two decades. The teacher-student ratio has also improved from 40 to 26. Today, through 'Vidya Samiksha Kendra', real-time monitoring of students and teachers is being done in about 55,000 schools, which is resulting in an increase in the learning outcome of the students. She noted that under the ‘Mission School of Excellence’, a target has been set to upgrade the infrastructure of about 20,000 schools in the state in the next five years.

The President noted that Gujarat has also made significant progress in the field of higher education. While the number of colleges in the state was 775 in 2001-02, in 2020-21 this number increased to more than 3,100. India's first education quality and monitoring cell, 'Garima Cell' has been established in this state for evaluation of higher education. She said that with the effective implementation of 'Van Bandhu-Kalyan Yojana', there has been a significant increase in the literacy rate in the tribal society. This scheme has also improved the school dropout rate among tribal students.

The President said that Gujarat has been a leading state in the last two decades on many parameters of development. It has presented many benchmarks in the inclusive development of industry, innovation and infrastructure

The President said that every state has its own model of development which is determined by the resources and needs of the state. But the manner in which Gujarat has made all round progress, has shown the path of inclusive development to other states. She expressed confidence that India will secure its place as a developed country during Amrit-Kaal, if all states move forward by learning from each other and adopting their successful models.

91springboard and Google for Startups Launch Virtual Accelerator for Women Entrepreneurs in India

New virtual programme that will help women entrepreneurs take their startups to the next level

Unique nationwide accelerator that combines leadership and tech masterclasses, business mentoring and investment readiness

91Springboard, one of India’s leading co-working community, collaborates with Google For Startups (GFS) to launch “Level Up” – a nationwide virtual accelerator program that aims to enable women entrepreneurs in India to elevate their startups to the next level. Combining key elements of business, tech, leadership and investment readiness, this accelerator program offers mentoring, masterclasses, connections and relevant tools for women entrepreneurs to refine their models, enhance their leadership skills and prepare them to get investment ready in order to grow their businesses and gain access to capital.

Level Up aims to address the hurdles women entrepreneurs face by creating opportunities for personal and business growth, providing greater visibility and a national platform, and improving access to capital through investor connections. The program is specially designed to support women entrepreneurs, who are looking for access to reliable mentorship, peer groups and other business related support.

Anand Vemuri, CEO, 91springboard

Anand Vemuri, CEO, 91Springboard said, "We are very excited to collaborate with Google for Startups in launching the Level Up program in India. 91Springboard has always believed in nurturing the startup ecosystem and fostering growth through ample learning opportunities. We believe that sharing global experiences and great work practices are fundamental in the growth and innovation for any sector. More women are launching and running startups but do not have the adequate support system to flourish. Through this effort with Google for Startups we hope to support women entrepreneurs in optimizing their businesses and building successful startups."

Mike Kim, Head of Google for Startups APAC

Mike Kim, Head of Google for Startups APAC said “At Google for Startups, our constant endeavor is to support diversity in the startup ecosystem. We have already launched an India Women Founders program and with this association, we are looking to scale our efforts to support more women founders. We are excited to be a part of the journey and bring Google’s international support, connections and network to this program.”

While the Covid-19 pandemic hit startups hard - with 35% of women-led startups experiencing a significant decline in revenues - things are starting to turn around. While fundraising continues being an uphill task for women entrepreneurs in India, despite reports of investors’ focus and growing interest in empowering women entrepreneurs, YourStory Research data* reveal that in Q1 2022, of the 482 funding deals in the Indian startup ecosystem, only 78 were raised by women-founded and co-founded startups, i.e. 16.18 percent. Access to expert mentorship, connections, and opportunity can create a level playing field for women entrepreneurs to flourish and grow.

Launch Date: 17 August 2022

Entry: Early stage, women-led, tech and/or tech enabled enterprises operating in India

Startups will need to fill the detailed application form. Once the initial criteria have been met, an expert panel will evaluate the applications based on a robust scoring system,

For more details visit: https://www.91springboard.com/level-up/

About 91Springboard:

91Springboard is a co-working space focused on building workplace communities that fosters joy, learning, and exchange of knowledge amongst its variety of members. It was one of the Incubators supported under the Atal Innovation Mission run by Niti Aayog. With 25,000 working professionals engaged, it aims to inject the country’s robust business ecosystem with fully functional workspaces that reflect a unique collaborative spirit. Having established its first dedicated co-working space in Delhi in 2012, 91springboard currently has 24 live hubs, spread across India’s premier cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad,Gurgaon, Noida, Pune and Goa. With its objective of creating a work culture that shares and learns from each other, 91Springboard promotes the exchange of ideas, innovation, and skills by providing a collaborative environment that inspires both personal and professional growth.

About Google for Startups:

Google for Startups is a Google initiative to help startups thrive across the world. Google for Startups runs programs, shares resources, builds Campuses, and supports a global network of leading tech hubs, accelerators, and diversity-focused organizations in the world's fastest growing markets. Google for Startups is Google’s initiative to help startups thrive across every corner of the world. We bring the best of Google's products, connections, and best practices to enable startups to build something better.

https://startup.google.com/

WE-HUB & Truecaller Sign a MoU to Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship in Telangana

Pragya Misra, Director, Public Affairs at Truecaller & Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE-Hub, Government of Telangana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate women’s entrepreneurship in Telangana in the presence

• The collaborative partnership aims to equip women entrepreneurs with the requisite tools to scale their businesses
• WE-HUB and Truecaller will extend mentorship and necessary leadership support to women-led start-ups

Truecaller, a leading global communications platform and WE HUB, Government of Telangana’s first and only state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote women-led start-ups across Telangana. This is another step by Truecaller to increase participation of women entrepreneurs in the digital space. The MoU was signed between Ms Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB & Ms Pragya Misra, Director of Public Affairs at Truecaller, in the presence of Mr Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Telangana, IT E&C department.

Truecaller will extend its Software Development Kit (SDK) to start-ups to improve their user funnel and drive growth with mobile number verification. The SDK is designed to help developers build world-class verification infrastructure at lightning speed and has helped multiple organizations drive and scale their businesses. In addition, Truecaller will provide advertisement credits worth 25,000 USD to promote visibility and scale for upcoming start-ups, their products and services. Encouraging problem-solving and innovation, WE-Hub & Truecaller will host hackathons on mutually identified problem statements, with rewards and prizes sponsored by Truecaller to incentivise wider participation. Further, leaders of the organizations will extend mentorship and necessary support as requested by women entrepreneurs and startups in the state.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Commerce & Industries, Information Technology Departments, Government of Telangana, who graced the occasion with his presence, commented, “The Government of Telangana has always supported collaboration between entities and believes in the potential and impact of supporting start-ups in the state. The partnership between WE-HUB and Truecaller will reinforce our commitment to this booming sector and give women founders and teams dedicated support in their entrepreneurial journey.”

Talking about the initiative, Ms Pragya Misra, Director of Public Affairs at Truecaller, said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with WE-HUB and contribute to Telangana’s diverse, vibrant and collaborative start-up ecosystem. As a platform, we are constantly evolving and making efforts to learn, build and give back to the community. We are confident that the entire start-up community will benefit from the smooth onboarding through SDK and increasing discovery of these businesses by advertising on Truecaller. This is another step in our mission to make communication safe and efficient. ”

Commenting on the development, Ms Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB, said, “We are glad to collaborate with Truecaller to support women-led start-ups with avenues to scale up using innovative platforms. This will not only enable them to go on and spearhead innovation in the country, but will also support them with a suite of benefits like growth, visibility of their products, and networking opportunities with customers. This partnership marks another milestone for WE Hub - aligning perfectly with our vision of accelerating women entrepreneurship across India.”

Over the past four years, WE HUB has been actively working towards enabling women-led start-ups across sectors to scale and accelerate through global market access. To date, WE-HUB has incubated 238 technology-enabled start-ups by Women founders.

WE HUB is the first-of-its-kind and only state-run platform for women entrepreneurs by the Government of Telangana. WE HUB supports women entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, solutions, and entities focusing on emerging areas in technology and allied sectors. WE HUB also supports under-explored/unexplored sectors, such as FMCG, retail, and e-commerce, including the service sector. The mandate and goal of WE HUB are to eliminate financial and societal barriers for women and help them succeed in their enterprises. WE HUB aims to create a supportive community for aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs where they can interact with VCs for funding, connect with corporates for scaling up their businesses, get advice from mentors to fine-tune ideas; and benefit from technical mentoring.

About Truecaller: We enable safe and relevant conversations between people and make it efficient for businesses to connect with consumers. Fraud and unwanted communication are endemic to digital economies, especially in emerging markets. We are on a mission to build trust in communication. Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for over 320 million active users, with half a billion downloads since launch and close to 38 billion unwanted calls identified and blocked in 2021. Headquartered in Stockholm, since 2009, we are a co-founder-led, entrepreneurial company, with a highly experienced management team. Truecaller has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since Oct 8th 2021. For more information, please visit corporate.truecaller.com

For more information, please contact: press@truecaller.com

Kotak Mahindra Bank Partners IIM Bangalore and NSRCEL for Developing India’s Future Women Entrepreneurs

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL/ “Kotak”), Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and NSRCEL- the start-up hub at IIMB announced their CSR partnership to implement the Women Startup Program (WSP 4) to support women by developing their entrepreneurial and managerial skills. The program, launched under KMBL’s CSR project on Education & Livelihood, aims to support ambitious and innovative women entrepreneurs by enabling them to transform their ideas into successful business ventures.

NSCREL at IIMB started the Women Startup Program in 2016 and has constantly reinvented itself and addressed the needs of women entrepreneurs at every stage in their entrepreneurial journeys. It has incubated 400+ female led and owned start-ups.

WSP 4 is the fourth edition of this program by NSRCEL - the centre for excellence on innovation and entrepreneurship at IIMB. WSP 4 will incubate early-stage companies founded by women

entrepreneurs that demonstrate the potential to innovate, implement and create social or financial impact, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

The program commences with a five-week training through Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to be offered on the digital learning initiative of IIMB, IIMBx platform, for all applicants of WSP 4. In the next phase, shortlisted women will be chosen for a three-month-long virtual pre-incubation program

designed by NSRCEL. In the final phase, shortlisted women entrepreneurs will be selected for incubation for 12 months by NSRCEL based on their prototypes and their pitches to the screening committee. During incubation, the entrepreneurs would work towards product/ prototype

development. They will be assessed based on their performance and growth against the milestones set at the beginning of the incubation phase. At this stage, top entrepreneurs will also receive funding support to grow their ventures.

Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, said: "Our CSR partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank will enhance the entrepreneurial and managerial skills of women business leaders by supporting the incubation and funding needs of their ventures early in the ideation stage. I am confident that the cohort of the program will build a vibrant ecosystem for women-led enterprises across the country.”

Rohit Rao, Joint President & Group Chief CSR Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited said, “With NSRCEL’s Women Startup Program, Kotak Mahindra Bank is aiming to build the next layer of fruitful business ventures run by women leaders. The participants will go through a rigorous process of selection and training. WSP 4 will give flight to their imagination and dreams. “Naari Shakti” will exhibit itself in full force when top-notch women of excellent calibre will strive to seek funding for their business ideas.”

Kotak Karma is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) identity of Kotak Mahindra Group companies.

Women's World Banking Announces 2023 Fintech Innovation Challenge to Elevate Fintechs with New Solutions to Close the Gender Gap in Financial Services

Competition invites later stage fintechs pioneering innovative financial solutions for the low-income women's market to apply; finalists and winner to access premier fintech networks and resources

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Women's World Banking announced today the 2023 Fintech Innovation Challenge, a global competition to highlight and advance solutions to close the gender gap through digital financial services. Now in its fourth year and the only women-centered fintechs competition, the Challenge will provide a platform for later stage fintechs working to address the persistent challenges in serving the low-income women's market.

According to the latest Global Findex Report, the number of women adopting digital financial services has risen dramatically since 2017, with the gender gap dropping from 9% to 6% in key emerging markets. But despite these advances, 742 million women are still excluded from the formal financial sector, and women are 31% more likely than men to have an inactive bank account.

Digital financial services can serve as an on-ramp for low-income women to adopt and use a large suite of formal financial products and services, expanding women's choices and their financial and economic resilience and empowerment. Low-income women represent a large, untapped market opportunity for digital financial services providers, particularly fintechs leveraging technology to close the gender gap in financial services.

"To achieve the promise of inclusive growth for the global economy, women need equal access to financial products, services, skills and technology," said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking. "Fintechs are uniquely positioned to help close the digital financial services gap because they have the ability to provide products and services differently and can efficiently meet the needs of low-income women in ways that traditional financial services providers can't or won't."

Applications for the Challenge will be open from August 3 to September 15. Entry categories include, but are not limited to:

• Sending and receiving money
• Credit for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)
• Safety net products (insurance, savings and pensions)
• Beyond money (financial and digital capabilities, and other business support services)

The top four finalists of the Challenge will participate in an in-person pitch competition next February in Dubai, and be fast-tracked for participation in the Women's Economic Empowerment Accelerator, powered by the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. They will also receive pitch advice and a UX design consultation. The Grand Prize winner will receive access to key 2023 fintech events like Point Zero, Elevandi Connects, and the Singapore Fintech Festival, as well as a speaker invitation at a Women's World Banking Making Finance Work for Women event.

All female-founded fintechs that make it to the top 12 of the competition will be selected for the first-ever Female Founders Circle, an exclusive network of like-minded female-founded fintechs, and will be promoted through a robust integrated communications, marketing and media campaign.

"Participating in the Women's World Banking Fintech Innovation Challenge drove us to learn more deeply how we can better serve our women customers," said Rachel Freeman, Chief Growth Officer at Tyme, a 2020 Fintech Innovation Challenge Winner. "It gave us global recognition at a crucial time in our expansion into the Asian market and during our recent capital raise, and we got valuable feedback from the judges that helped us refine our proposition."

The top twelve finalists and Female Founders Circle participants will be announced on October 26, with the top four finalists announced on January 9, 2023. The Grand Prize winner of the Fintech Innovation Challenge will be announced in Dubai, on February 16, 2023 following the pitch competition.

The Fintech Innovation Challenge is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Leading Sponsor) and Ernst & Young LLP (EY US and Advancing Sponsor). Women's World Banking's core funders are Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and Visa Foundation.

About Women's World Banking

Women's World Banking designs and invests in financial solutions, institutions, and policy environments in emerging markets to create greater economic stability and prosperity for women, their families, and their communities. With a Global Network reach of 62 financial services providers in 35 countries serving more than 138 million women clients, Women's World Banking drives impact through its scalable, market-driven solutions; gender lens private equity fund; and leadership and diversity programs. To learn more visit womensworldbanking.org.

Media Contact: Kelsey Thompson: kelsey.thompson@porternovelli.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862656/Women_s_World_Banking_sq_Logo.jpg

WeWork Labs and StrongHer Ventures Partner to Empower 1 Mn Women through ‘Arise’, India’s Largest Platform for Women-led Entrepreneurship

• Arise is an engaged acceleration program offering knowledge sessions, bootcamps, sector experts, engaged mentors, extensive networking sessions, hiring drives, warm client connect, access to follow-on capital, and over $1M worth of benefits to participants
• The program will engage with 5,000 startups, mentor 1000 entrepreneurs and invest in over 100 startups over the next 5 years
• Arise expects to add $1.5 billion to India’s women-led economy (GDP)

WeWork India, the leading flexible workspace provider, today announced its partnership with StrongHer Ventures to launch ‘Arise’, a programme designed to unlock opportunities for India’s women entrepreneurial ecosystem. The association will be jointly led by WeWork Labs, the global incubation and acceleration arm of WeWork, and StrongHer Ventures, the first woman-focused VC in India and globally. The programme will focus on helping women entrepreneurs through a blend of competitive guidance, business support, community development and broader societal impact.

Arise brings together the benefits of StrongHer Ventures’ extensive investment expertise and investor network, coupled with WeWork Labs’ global acceleration platform. The programme will engage with 5,000 startups, mentor 1000 entrepreneurs and invest in over 100 startups over the next 5 years. It will impact engagement and empowerment of over a million women in India, resulting in 5x increase in funding for women entrepreneurs, doubling the number of women leaders across the impacted group of women, and a 50% reduction in pay gap. Arise expects to add $1.5 billion to India’s women-led economy (GDP).

Arvind Radhakrishnan, Head of Labs, WeWork India, said, "WeWork Labs has always been uniquely capable of delivering ground-up impact because of WeWork India’s extensive physical presence across the country. This allows us to have our eyes on the ground in several micro-ecosystems, and engage with founders on a much deeper level. We are delighted to partner with StrongHer Ventures to leverage this access and reach to address the perennial issue of underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem. With StrongHer’s extensive track record and network, the aim of the partnership is to build a solid foundation for women-led and focused businesses in India and offer a combination of capital, acceleration, mentorship, customer and market access to high-potential women-led or women-focused startups going forward."

Apart from capital investment, Arise will offer women entrepreneurs a range of benefits as part of the acceleration program including knowledge sessions, bootcamps, sector experts, engaged mentoring, curated networking events, hiring drives, warm client connect, access to follow-on capital, and up to $1 million worth of perks. Given the access, reach and track record jointly offered by StrongHer Ventures and WeWork Labs, Arise will empower the women-led ecosystem with hands-on portfolio support. Additionally, access to WeWork spaces will be offered at highly subsidised rates through WeWork Labs’ Growth Campus offering.

Ankita Vashistha, Founder & Managing Partner, StrongHer Ventures, said “We are founders of the first venture capital fund to invest in women entrepreneurs and with Arise we are now launching the largest accelerator platform for women led and focused startups, along with WeWork Labs in India. We are engaging women leaders, investors, founders, professionals and corporates to build the most engaged community and ecosystem for women. Arise is uniquely positioned to accelerate growth and value with engaged mentors and sector experts and extensive focus on digital innovation, networking, partnerships, investor relations and business connections. We are proud to change the narrative and are confident of increasing the amount of funding to women entrepreneurs by 5x and impacting the number of women in leadership and entrepreneurial positions. The female economy is here and we are leading the change.”

The programme will draw out the entire women led/focused innovation ecosystem in India, including founders, talent, corporate leaders, investors & mentors such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Biocon), Kirthiga Reddy (WeWork), Deepak Parekh (HDFC Bank), Upasana Taku (MobiKwik), Neha Motwani (Fitternity/CureFit), Bhavna Suresh (10Club), Ganesh Natarajan (Ex Zensar), Anisha Patnaik (LexStart) and Avinash Vashistha (Former Chairman & MD, Accenture), among several other leaders.

Commenting on the program Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon & Biocon Biologics said, “The Arise program by StrongHer Ventures and WeWork Labs is leading the way to triple the number of women entrepreneurs who get funded and increase women in leadership positions by 50%. Let’s arise and break the bias."

The acceleration programme will be open to all pre-seed women-led/women-focused startups in the broad categories of health, fin-tech, consumer, future of work & web 3.0. One of the core focuses will be to engage with the startups throughout various rounds of fundraising to help scale their businesses and focus on driving long-term societal impact, by publishing original research from their learnings obtained throughout the programme. This is aimed to encourage thought leadership and advocate policy changes in the industry.

Co-investors, mentors, sponsors and ecosystem enablers who are interested in contributing towards the programme can apply here.

About WeWork Labs

WeWork Labs is a platform for early-stage startups that takes an innovative and personalised approach to helping entrepreneurs succeed. It serves as a growing ideation hub for forward-thinking organisations, partnering with local incubators, accelerators, and large enterprises to power future corporate innovation in both India and around the globe. Coupled with access to WeWork’s global community of 5000+ founders, investors and mentors, WeWork Labs provides members with the space, access to investment, upskilling sessions with experts, warm client connect and educational resources to help grow their business.

About StrongHer Ventures

StrongHer Ventures is building the largest, most impactful and engaging platform for women entrepreneurship, investments, engagement and leadership. StrongHer Ventures is a $100M platform, launched after the successful deployment of Saha Fund, investing across pre-seed to early stage companies. Looking at women led/focused technology driven, scalable business models across health, fintech, future of work and life, consumer and web 3.0. StrongHer Ventures is driven by an experienced team, led by Managing Partner - Ankita Vashistha with a proven track record of investing in technology, ventures and diversity across USA, India, Europe, Asia and supported by a strong board of experts, global advisory board, entrepreneurial and corporate operator network.

TiE Women 2022 Initiative Unveiled

Rashida Adenwala, Srikanth T G, Suresh Raju, Bhanuprakash, Poornima, Vandana Maheshwari at the launch

TiE Hyderabad unveiled its TiE Women 2022, a global initiative at the ongoing Business Women Expo 2022 on Saturday. The initiative was launched by Suresh Raju, President of TiE Hyderabad; Srikanth T.G, Business Head, HITEX; Purnima Kamble, Chairwoman of CII-Indian Women Network(IWN) Telangana; Ms Rashida Adenwala---Vice President, TiE, Hyderabad and others.

Addressing the gathering immediately after unveiling it, the TiE Hyderabad President Suresh Raju said, the pandemic paved the way for counting in more women into the workforce by providing work-from-home opportunities and nearly 26% of women workforce work from home. Women's workforce is contributing 17% to our GDP and 28% of enterprises are managed by women. The government is playing its role, so also the corporates in encouraging more women to get into work. TiE Hyderabad has a big role to play he said

Speaking further, Suresh Raju added that 100 plus women entrepreneurs from different countries are expected to participate in the TiE Global Summit to be hosted by the local chapter in December in Hyderabad.  

Rashida Adenwala said it is a leading initiative of TiE across the globe. It is a pitch competition. It is launched to showcase Women Entrepreneurs from the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to a stellar global team and build a climate of inclusiveness. This is the only program serving as an opportunity for Women Entrepreneur to represent the two states to compete at Global Scale. 

Outlining the program she said it will be held in two phases. Phase one, the local chapter level goes up to August 31st. Phase two, the global level programs run through September. It will kick start in August. Phase -1 is Regional Pitch Competition. Each chapter selects one winner and four runners up. 

The winner goes to the global finale to be held in Dubai. And three runners-up are entitled to a Bootcamp in India. The Pitch Competition was created to provide opportunities, access to investors and VCs, she shared.

TiE Women over the past two years impacted 200 plus women entrepreneurs. And added 126 women to its network, Rashida shared. 30 mentors are dedicated to this initiative. A couple of these women were selected to pitch in SharkTank and got funded to the extent of Rs 56 crore she said. Shark Tank is a reality show that facilitates entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of investors or sharks, who decide whether to invest in their company. 

150 women-owned business are showcasing their products and services in the three-day Business Women Expo 2022 which is currently underway at Hitex. Business Idea Competition finals are held during the Business Women Expo. More than100 entries are received for the same.

Madhu Tyagi, Vice President of COWE informed that B2B Meetings are being held in 4 industry verticals like Hospitality, Health Care, Retail and Manufacturing. Through these meetings, businesswomen are connected to potential customers

A job drive is also conducted by Qentelli and Progress. The expo has a food entrepreneur pavilion, which is a platform for food entrepreneurs and food innovators. The foodpreneur pavilion has 30 stalls. 

WEFT Foundation Launches Womentastic App and Honours Women Entrepreneurs from Various Fields

Woman Entrepreneurs For Transformation (WEFT) Foundation - a not for profit organization formed to support and provide a networking platform for women; honored women achievers from different walks of life in Bangalore. The event felicitated female entrepreneurs as a way to celebrate women’s empowerment.

The winners comprise of -

• Somya Luhadia  - WEFT Young Achiever of the Year
• Sujyothi N Prasad - WEFT Woman for Woman Award 
• Pushpalatha MS  - WEFT Achiever of the Year
• Dr. Shreya Govind  - WEFT Consultant of the Year
• Gayathri Vamsi - WEFT in Business Excellence of the Year
• Swati Jha - WEFT Author of the Year
• Deepthi Babu - WEFT Innovative Woman Leader of the Year
• Anuja Soni - WEFT Artist of the Year
• Deepti Bhandari - WEFT Dreamer of the Year
• Dr. Samina F Zamindar - WEFT Women Leader of the Year
• Roopa Deshraj - WEFT in Design Excellence of the Year
• Shilpa Kulshrestha - WEFT Changemaker of the Year
• Rashmi V Kulkarni - WEFT Women Edupreneur of the Year
• Manjoo Shree. N - WEFT Transformational Leader of the Year
• SARGAM DHAWAN BHAYANA - WEFT Young Achiever of the Year (D2C) Category
• Swarna Raja  - WEFT Entrepreneur of the Year in Art and Culture
• Dimple Verma - WEFT Techpreneur of the Year
• Sudakshina Bhattacharya - WEFT Most Influential Women of the Year
• Priti Kabra - WEFT Emerging Author Wellness Trainer and Coach of the Year
• Smitha Arangaly - WEFT Homepreneur of th Year Award
• Aarti Notiyal - WEFT Woman in Public Relations of Year

The occasion was made more significant for all the women as WEFT launched its app ‘Womentastic’ - is a digital platform for women entrepreneurs to connect, network with each other, talk freely and opinionate and find solutions to their problems.

The fact that women entrepreneurs face numerous challenges in every field in different ways, thus WEFT Foundation began as an initiative to facilitate women with their entrepreneurial dreams. And the launch of the APP, is an extension and taking the efforts to another level by providing women a common platform to gain instant access and visibility. 

Womentastic - the app fulfils the fundamental need of women entrepreneurs – to reach and connect. Womentastic which has been founded by Iti Rawat, Sanjay Kaul, and Gaurav Raheja was received with an amazing response even before its launch and several women downloaded the App at the launch event itself. 

The event was attended by dignitaries like the App’s Founders, along with Rekha Sharma, Dipika Trehan, Aparna Vedapuri Singh, AlinaAlam, VandanaSuri, Anisha Singh.

Ms. Iti Rawat, Founder of Weft Foundation commented on the event and the Womentastic app, "It is been an overwhelmingto see the wonderful reponse at the successful launch of the event and the support from the community for the app. Womentastic is the result of our belief that women already have the innate capacity and skill to succeed as entrepreneurs, and giving them a digital platform like Womentastic will further enhance their entrepreneurial skills and facilitate mutual support among them. Networking is an essential aspect of being an entrepreneur, and our app makes it easier than ever. Imagine being able to acquire funding with a single click of a button, or finding legal, health, counseling at different levels and other help by just submitting your query to the relevant group. Womentastic has everything a woman entrepreneur might want, from careers to business opportunities, and more. Our motto is ‘stronger together', as we believe that women supporting each other is the best way to promote women’s empowerment.”

T-Hub Celebrates Outstanding Achievements of 50 Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders to Mark International Women’s Day

T-Hub hosted its first of kind event ‘The Womenpreneur’ bringing together all the stakeholders to celebrate the tremendous contributions and achievements of women entrepreneurs and leaders.

The event had 20+ eminent speakers delivering inspiring and insightful keynotes and panel sessions and had 250+ attendees join the event physically as well as virtually.

T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem, organised ‘The Womenpreneur’ event with thought-provoking conversations from women entrepreneurs, women leaders, government representatives to inspire the next generation of leaders and dreamers this International Women's Day. The event had 20+ eminent speakers delivering inspiring and insightful keynotes and panel sessions and had 250+ attendees join the event physically as well as virtually.

With the spirit of innovate, inspire, and ignite, the event aimed at understanding the journey of women entrepreneurs, how they overcame gender bias in their growth journey, with the support of ecosystem enablers such as T-Hub, WE HUB, TSIC etc. The event brought together eminent dignitaries such as Dr. S. Glory Swarupa, Director General, National Institute of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NIMSME), Anu Acharya, CEO, Mapmygenome, Cerasela Tanasescu, Director, La Trobe University, Dr. Shanta Thoutam, Chief innovation officer (CIO), Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC).

  
MSR, CEO, T-Hub addressing the event said, “The overall number of women enterprises and jobs these enterprises create in the country are very less currently, and I believe that all the ecosystem stakeholders should come and work together to find ways and means that will help create an impact where potentially we can create 40 million women enterprises in India in the coming years and possibly create about 150 to 170 million jobs from those enterprises. This requires a profound transformation that will help empower our personal, economic, social status. Today’s collaboration is one such opportunity for us to reflect, to think, and to come up with ideas on how we can accelerate this whole transformation piece.”

Dr. S. Glory Swarupa in her special address talked about one of the biggest difficulties for women is access to finance. Studies have shown women entrepreneurs can create millions of jobs, contributing to the economy and as a national institution taking responsibility for women's participation in MSME, NIMSME is keeping a 3-year vision - and have shared its proposal to the MSME ministry on the difficulty women are facing and how to overcome this.

Anu Acharya in her keynote address pointed out how the next generation is gender-free and that we might not need to have discussions on removing gender biases but on the way forward strategy to strengthen the women workforce.

Another keynote speech, which was addressed by Dr. Shanta Thoutam, talked about how some of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs are being overcome through incubation centres like T-Hub, and WE HUB. Shanta urged the women entrepreneurs to trust in their decisions while running their own businesses.

The event organised a fireside chat session on ‘Women trailblazing entrepreneurship’ moderated by Deepthi R, Chief Executive Officer, WE HUB with the panel members Tanuja Abburi, Founder, Beyond Pinks, Kritika Narula, Lead, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy, Startup India, Government of India, Rashida Adenwala, Co-founder & Partner, R & A Associates, Jugnu Jain, CEO, Sapien Biosciences, Sreedevi Devireddy, VP - Startup Ecosystem, XELP, Sabina Kamal, Founder & COO Paytm m'Loyal (Mobiquest).

The event also witnessed the book launch by MSR for the book “Accelerating Her Business” co-authored by Poornima Shenoy and Supriya Panchangam. Keeping the strong narrative for women in India, the event showcased inspiring voyages of founders like Priya Ananth, Co-founder, Life Circle, Kalpana Ramesh, Founder of Rainwater Harvest Project and Krupala Nune, COO of LifeOfGirl startup.

A panel discussion titled “Women entrepreneurs as the next frontier for employment” was also organised which was led by Rashmi Pimpale, CEO, Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH), Government of Telangana, with panelists Madhura Dasgupta Sinha, Founder & CEO, Aspire For Her, Samir Sathe, Executive Vice President, Wadhwani Foundation, Poornima Shenoy and Supriya Panchangam, Authors of Accelerating Her Business book.

T-Hub also took this opportunity to felicitate 50 people to honour their contribution in inspiring, retaining and enabling the spirit of women entrepreneurship across the globe. These included women entrepreneurs like Anindita Banik, CEO, of SmartWinnr, Sarada Kalavapudi, Founder of Hivedin, Aparna Bhogu, Co-Founder of Monitra, Hema Nandiraju, Co-founder of HESA Global, and women mentors like Neetika Maheshwari, Founder of Accelero Corporation, Nirajita Mitra, Senior Director at Oracle India, Mytri Reddy, Partner at Varuna Law Associates, Nandita Sethi, Founder and Managing Director of The Entrepreneur Zone, and corporate women leaders like Rajita Singh, Head HR of Broadridge Financial Services, Urvashi Katyal, Strategic Partnership Manager, Community & Impact at Meta, and Swetha Balasa, Director at Honeywell Aerospace, among others.

The event concluded with an introduction to Startup India Awards 2022 by Aakanksha Chandra, Associate, Startup India, Government of India which will identify and celebrate innovations across 17 sectors, 50 sub-sectors and 7 special categories.

T-Hub has designed and delivered 100+ innovation programs in the last 6 years, enabling 1800+ startups to scale nationally and globally, and connected them with various influential ecosystem stakeholders. T-Hub will continue to develop strategic programs to elevate the levels of innovation by effectively engaging stakeholders and will keep supporting other ecosystem enablers – TSIC, T-Works, WE HUB, RICH, TASK by sharing knowledge and resources, as and when needed.

ABOUT T-HUB

T-Hub (Technology Hub) is an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler. Based out of Hyderabad, India, T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem. With a mission of enabling and empowering an ecosystem hungry for innovation, T-Hub is creating impact for startups, corporations and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Incorporated in 2015, it has provided over 1800+ national and international startups with access to better technology, talent, mentors, customers, corporates, investors, and government agencies. It has elevated innovation for leading national and global corporations, transforming their business models for the better. Working in collaboration with innovation partners and enablers in Telangana, India and worldwide, T-Hub is building a future-ready innovation ecosystem.