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BITS Pilani, ABCF Bring Startup Program for Women Entrepreneurs
BITS Pilani’s PIEDS or Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society, the technology business incubator has launched a startup program called Womenpreneur for Bharat 1.0 in association with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform that supports women entrepreneurs nationwide. The program primarily focuses on women deploying solutions or devising strategies in smaller cities of the northeastern region, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Haryana as per the institute’s report regarding this announcement.
Womenpreneur for Bharat 1.0 is powered by NITI Aayog and financially supported by the CSR arm of Aditya Birla Capital Limited, Aditya Birla Capital Foundation. The program leverages access to multiple benefits for eligible startups such as providing a capital fund of up to 10 lakh rupees, extended incubation from the Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society, and exclusive one-on-one mentoring, market support by creating a presence of your startup in the market and ample opportunities to raise funds. ‘Womenpreneurs for Bharat 1.0’ is aimed to provide funding, enough workspace, mentoring, and training to the women entrepreneurs working for or from tier 2 (cities with a population in the range of 50,000 to 100,000 people), 3 (cities with a population in the range of 20,000 to 50,000 people), and 4 (cities with a population in the range of 10,000 to 19,999 people) cities across northeastern region, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir.
The program is open for both profitable and non-profitable women-led startups situated across UN-SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) areas and provides solutions involving business and societal problems in those specific regions.
Vishaka Mulye, Director of Aditya Birla Capital Foundation and CEO of Aditya Birla Capital, expressed his thoughts in a statement about this program saying that this program is dedicated to creating equitable, inclusive, and long-term social and economic growth for the country. She further stated that through this program, a platform is being created that accelerates the development, advancement, support, and growth of women entrepreneurs filled with the potential to tackle underserved regions of India with their innovative solutions.
In addition to what the CEO of Aditya Birla Capital said, the vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani, V Ramgopal Rao stated that he has faith and belief in women innovators of the nation, especially those hailing from the northeastern states will bring forth an excellent wave of new innovations to provide solutions of problems existing in their own region and help the region grow.
According to the NITI Aayog’s research report, the think tank of the government, over 20% of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are led by women among 63 million such enterprises in India. Those 20% of enterprises have given 22-27 million people in total. Based on the future statistics, the report concludes that by expediting women’s entrepreneurship in India, the nation could pave the way for more than 30 million women-owned MSMEs, potentially making way for 150-170 million job opportunities.
Furthermore, Ms. Anna Roy, Mission Director of WEP, said, “The project embodies a strategic approach to bolster women’s entrepreneurship in the tech4good sector which has a significant market and impact potential, aligning with national goals of gender equality, women-led development, and digital inclusion. Women entrepreneurs leading innovations in critical development areas with a tech-led approach can have significant gains overall for business and society,” speaking about the development of this startup program.
About PIEDS
PIEDS is the Technology Business Incubator at BITS Pilani set up in 2004. In 2012, this was formally admitted into a separate not-for-profit society called Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (PIEDS). Since its launch, PIEDS has supported over 75 startups and played a pivotal role in helping entrepreneurs. It is a primary part of bringing out innovation, commercialization, and enhancing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the nation. The launch of this program has helped the graduates of BITS to opt for entrepreneurship. Approximately 300 startups have been formed with the launch of this incubator in 2004. It is further acting as a private organization to help other investors and entrepreneurs across the nation.
About Aditya Birla Capital Foundation
Aditya Birla Capital Foundation (“ABCF”) is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Aditya Birla Capital for undertaking its developmental projects.
Mentor of Aditya Birla Capital Foundation: The Chairperson of “The Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development,” Mrs. Rajashree Birla.
Directors of Aditya Birla Capital Foundation:
- Mr. Subhro Bhaduri – The Chief Human Resources Officer at Aditya Birla Capital Limited
- Dr. Pargnya Ram – Group Executive President, Group Head – CSR, Legacy, Documentation & Archives
- Mrs. Vishaka Mulye – Chief Executive Officer at Aditya Birla Capital Limited
The Aditya Birla Capital Foundation is committed to accelerating programs for inclusive growth and development of the underdevelopment sections of society. The primary focus and involvement of ABCF is on women-centric programs in the areas of healthcare, education, women empowerment, sustainable livelihood, and sports, amongst others. Till now, ABCF has made a fathomable difference in enhancing the lives of over 5.5 lakh people and is considered a Force for Good among beneficiaries.
Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)
WEP is a program and initiative launched by NITI Aayog that serves as a bridge in connecting public-private relationships. This is your one-stop destination for all women entrepreneurs which includes SmartMatch of the government schemes, incubators, accelerators, and private sector initiatives, a community page, and a mentorship module. Apart from this, the overall initiative, State Support Mission by NITI Aayog, is strategically crafted to deliver support for both states and union territories in the nation to achieve socioeconomic goals by 2047. Under the guidance and assistance of the State Support Mission, an array of workshops are being launched for Centre-State exchanges and forging partnerships.
The main goal is to increase awareness about the Women Entrepreneurship Platform and discover a range of developing initiatives that the WEP has set in motion. Under the State Support Mission, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform is now expanding its reach to the grassroots through a hub-and-spoke model.
