Grand Inauguration of AIC Banasthali Incubation Program WOMENPreneur

India is home to the third largest number of technology driven startups in the world, with the US and the UK occupying the top two positions. Despite that, only 9 per cent of the founders are women, according to an Assocham India study quoted in lead Business magazine Forbes.

An IMF study has shown that India’s GDP would rise by 27% if Women’s participation in the labour force were to equal that of men and if companies are reticent to hire women workers, the nation at large will lose out. Women indeed have proved that they are capable of starting businesses with half the capital as well as operate the business on their toddler’s sleep schedule. Although more women are embracing entrepreneurship, unlike their male counterparts, they often face challenges which include Defying social expectations, Limited access to funding, Building a support network, Balancing business and family life as well as Coping with a fear of failure.

Women outperform men in 11 of 12 key emotional intelligence competencies, new research by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry has revealed. Women are 45% more likely than men to be seen as demonstrating empathy consistently. Competencies in which women outperform men are coaching & mentoring, influence, inspirational leadership, conflict management, organizational awareness, adaptability, teamwork and achievement orientation.

Atal Incubation Centre – AIC at Banasthali has been established with support from NITI Aayog Atal Incubation Mission with the vision of empowering women through entrepreneurship. AIC Banasthali is one of its kind incubation centre in India today focusing on women-led startups and provides access to world class labs, modern equipment, huge mentor and industry network, funding opportunities, state of the art operating facilities, customized support and conducive environment for growth.

Two programs offered by Banasthali are WE Sprint – Women Entrepreneur Sprint an accelerator program for fledging startups and WOMENPreneur – an incubation program for aspiring women entrepreneurs that aims to facilitate the creation of a community of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, grant bodies and mentoring support to nurture startups at all stages including student startups.

It is indeed a matter of pride that WOMENPreneur call received about 200 applications from women-led startups from across India. After the first round of short listing, 40 women-led startups have been selected for a 3 day Mentoring Bootcamp from 13-15th March 2018. The boot camp aims to prepare these startups on finance, business model, go-to-market strategies with a series of workshops & mentoring sessions from sector specific mentors. More than 35 serial entrepreneurs and investors are also visiting during the program.

Some of the startups include a social venture Bhavishya by Ms Aeshvarya Mittal MSc (Hons) Bio & B.E (Hons) Chemical student from BITS Pilani, Arsenic Filter for clean water MSTERIAN by Ms Nivedita Priyadharshini alumnus of MSc (Bio Tech) 2014 Banasthali presently SRF at CSIR CMERI Durgapur, KOSHISH a venture for educating underprivileged children by Banasthali MSc (Bio Tech) 1999-2000 alumnus Ms Vandana Gupta, D-FLO Fluoride Removal for Rural areas venture piloted by Dr Suphiya Khan Professor at School of Life Sciences Banasthali whose research had featured in the world’s most cited and high impact scientific journal Nature, The Apprentice Project for Education and Counselling by Ms Monica Pesswani alumnus of Pune University.

On 13 Mar 2018, the WOMENPreneur program had a grand inauguration at the State of the Art Lecture Theatre in Atal Incubation Centre Building. The ceremonial Lamp lighting was done by Prof Chitra Purohit President, Prof Siddharth Shastri Vice President, Prof Harsh Purohit Dean WISDOM B School and Prof Abhishek Pareek CEO AIC followed by rendering of a divine song by students of Banasthali choir. Prof Harsh Purohit welcomed the gathering which was followed by an inspiring speech by Prof Aditya Shastri highlighting Banasthali approach to entrepreneurship, innovation for NASA Rocket launch etc. The proceedings were anchored by B School Faculty Ms Ravisha. CEO Abhishek Pareek in his speech gave an overview of AIC activities and proposed vote of thanks.

The 3 day Boot camp includes Building the Lean Business Model on Day 1, Group Mentoring sessions on Day 2 and Pitching Sessions on Day 3. This event is destined to be a milestone in Women Entrepreneurship in India tomorrow.

For more details about Banasthali see http://www.banasthali.org/

About Banasthali: The Institution which is also the largest fully residential women’s university in the world has played a big role in revolutionizing women’s education in the country for the last eight decades with a belief that there is a tremendous role of higher education in empowering the women. Banasthali has scripted numerous success stories in a wide range of fields, and stands tall among the citadels of learning in India today. Team Banasthali with Vice Chancellor J C Bose Memorial Award for eminent scientist recipient Prof Aditya Shastri a highly acclaimed alumnus of BITS Pilani, SUNY State University of New York Stony Brook and MIT USA is indeed racing forward to be the very best among global women universities. Matter of pride that Banasthali has been selected by NITI Aayog along with ISB CCMB in Top 10 to host Atal Incubation Centre. Proud to be Banasthali alumni who call themselves as Banasthalites can be found in all latitudes, longitudes and altitudes in all walks of life across the globe.

Banasthali University
P.O. Banasthali Vidyapith
Rajasthan – 304022
Phone 91 1438 228456 / 228341
Email: info@banasthali.ac.in
Website: http://www.banasthali.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Banasthali.org

This release was published on openPR.