Government Encourages Women to Be Active Part of Startup Ecosystem

The business world has space for everyone with a right vision and dedication irrespective of the gender, which is why government of India is trying to uplift women entrepreneurs through various programs.

Launching New Programs

Recently Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (WEE) has launched a new program, where they will groom 30 women entrepreneurs.

The Society for Innovation &Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT-B has joined hands with WEE to launch a ‘Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Mentorship Program’, with support from Department of Science and Technology and NITI Aayog.

The institute aims to empower women entrepreneurs and make their visibility clear in the startup ecosystem. Only 10 % of the total student population at IIT-B has founded their own startups, who are women.

Startup Ecosystem Finding Balance

Poyni Bhatt, CEO of SINE, said: “It is a well-documented fact that the proportion of women entrepreneurs is really low, although there is no specific database to prove that. To address this, we have started the programs, through which we will groom women who have ideas for start-ups.”

She added, “In August, we gave a nationwide call for applications. We have women from technology sectors, media as well as the social sector.”

There are other schemes and programs, which the government of India has launched in order to provide opportunities and push more women to start their own ventures. They are:

• Mahila Vikas Nidhi, a fund set up by SIDBI to help women in the rural area start their entrepreneurship easily
• Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD) scheme for women, a scheme that provides women with proper trade-related training, information and counseling along with extension activities related to trades, products, services etc to get them started with their businesses.
• Government Yojanas like Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana and Swaran Jayanti Sekhari Rozgar Yojana that provide reservations for women and encourage them to start their own ventures.