IIM Bangalore's startup and innovation hub, NSRCEL, will conduct its third cohort of Women Start-up Program this year. The institute is accepting applications online through NSRCEL website.
The Women Startup Program aims to support ambitious and innovative women entrepreneurs by enabling them to transform their idea into a business venture and enhancing their entrepreneurial and managerial skills. It focuses on the Indian Government's vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Vocal for Local'.
"The economic impact of COVID is going to be as much, if not more, than its impact on our health. We believe entrepreneurship is the only way to absorb this impact and reignite the engine of growth for our nation. Our newly designed Women Startup Program plans to create a large pool of women entrepreneurs across the country through active partnerships with other institutions in each State. This will also be our first effort to run a totally virtual program that would tap into multi-lingual content to reach women entrepreneurs, both in urban and rural areas," said Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chairperson, NSRCEL.
The program will make learning accessible and affordable to women entrepreneurs from the tier-2 and tier-3 cities of the country.
Early-stage ideas startups (not more than 12 months' old) will be shortlisted for the first phase of the program. The program commences with a five-week training through Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to be offered on the Swayam platform.
The second and third phases of the program will have the selected entrepreneurs undergo a two-month virtual launchpad program followed by a six-month incubation program designed by NSRCEL and its partner institutes. They will then present their product/prototype and pitch to a screening committee.
On successful completion of the program, the women entrepreneurs will have access to legal and compliance support extended to all NSRCEL alumni. They will become part of the NSRCEL ecosystem, by which they can connect with fellow entrepreneurs, industry experts and academicians. They will also get the opportunity to pitch to investors. The performance and progress of the ventures will be monitored and tracked, every quarter, for a year by NSRCEL and its partner institutes.
