The winning ideas

The NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) announced the selection of 100 women entrepreneurs-in-the-making and their ideas for incubation. The women selected were graduates from the 2018 class of the nationwide ‘Women Startup Programme (WSP)’, which is supported by Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank and active investor in India, and the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India (GOI).

The WSP is a first-of-its kind customized online and classroom-training programme designed to enable aspiring Indian women entrepreneurs to systematically identify and test their business ideas. “The WSP provides an in-depth training to nurture and augment managerial and entrepreneurial skills of female entrepreneurs through mentorship from industry veterans, incubation at leading institutes and financial support,” said a statement from IIM Bangalore.

The selected 100 women entrepreneurs will receive a fellowship of INR 30,000 per month in addition to a prototype development fund to help kick-start their ventures from the DST, GOI. From that group, ten women identified to have the best ideas will also be provided with an opportunity to go on a startup study trip to Israel. This year’s incubation class addresses a variety of sectors across society and industry, including construction, ecommerce and retail, education, healthcare and wellness, finance and manufacturing.

Bhavya Purana Hosadurgam, founder of momSAURUS and one of the 100 selected entrepreneurs, said, “I have benefited immensely from this programme. It has provided me with access to the tools, processes and mentorship necessary to translate my concept into a working idea.” 

The WSP 2018 class
This year’s class is made up of diverse participants across age groups from 20 to 50 years of age; academic backgrounds spanning from higher secondary degrees to PhDs and MBBSs; and diverse professions from women who are on a career break to doctors and engineers. Geographically, the women resided all across India, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

 “This is one of the largest women startup programmes in India and we thank our partner academic institutes for joining us in this endeavor. Our pilot WSP showed that in addition to the financial support provided, entrepreneurs need mentoring and networking support,” said Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula, Faculty in Entrepreneurship and Chairperson of NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore.