India | 6th February 2020: WE HUB, India’s first state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start up, scale up and accelerate with global market access, today announced the call-for-applications for the second cohort of its tailor made incubation program. After the success of its first cohort of 26 start-ups that graduated in September 2019. Some of the start-ups from the first cohort raised funding for product development, received grants and also got the opportunity to partner with Government Entities.
The program has been designed with a targeted approach to provide entrepreneurs with a need-based intervention model, to help them scale-up. It will include women entrepreneurs from across the socio-economic strata geographical borders, and operational capacities.
The cohort will be shortlisted applications received, after an intensive screening process. To be a part of this exclusively designed 12-month incubation program for women. The call for applications begins today and will close on 3rd March 2020. Interested start-ups can apply here: here. The focus sectors are FMCG, Manufacturing, Healthtech, Fintech, Edtech and E-commerce.
The shortlisted start-ups will receive access to industrial visits and international market access support through WE HUB’s partnerships with various corporates and international organisations, along with one-to-one interactions and need-based sessions for each of the start-ups. WE HUB will set goals and will track the progress of each of the start-up as well as the program.
Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB, said, ” WE HUB’s strategically designed incubation program provides women entrepreneurs like national and international market access platforms and a strong mentor network. These skills will help them scale rapidly and we aim to develop such processes that can be benefitted even after graduation. No two business ideas are identical, neither should their incubation process be, hence WE HUB provides each of the start-ups with need-based in-depth interventions to set their business on course. We created a conducive space for our first cohort that helped them set their entrepreneurial journey on the right note. With the strong network of mentors and investors, entrepreneurs were able to attract sizeable funding, grants and profitable tie-ups with government entities”
To meet the minimum eligibility criteria of the programme, the early-stage start-ups should have:
● 51 per cent stakeholder should be a woman
● Innovation factor
● A team of two or more co-founders working full time
The final set of chosen start-ups will receive a host of benefits to ensure their strategic growth, including:
● Customised incubation program will be created to address the needs of an individual start-up
● Undergoing a design sprint, a time-constrained, five-phase process that uses design thinking to reduce the risk when bringing a new product, service or a feature of the market.
● Accessing funding opportunities
● Attending workshops and seminars from senior corporate executives/CXOs and serial entrepreneurs
● Access the building facility 24/7 during the program on flexible terms
● Established network of mentors, service providers, and knowledge partners
● Child Play Area and mother’s room.