BBC is calling for the second cohort of women entrepreneurs under the Elevate Women Acceleration Programme. Register Here

Elevate Women Acceleration Programme

Women-owned businesses are in minority in India. The hurdles faced by women who have embraced entrepreneurship are vast and often different from those experienced by their male counterparts. A survey says that in India around 42% of the women in tech feel that their voices and contributions to tech are unappreciated in the workplace which is twice the global average. India stood 52nd rank among 58 countries for providing a congenial environment for women entrepreneurs (Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, 2019).

Karnataka has always been a supporting ecosystem that has facilitated the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship. Promoting women entrepreneurship is one of the priority areas of GoK.

Objectives:

The following are the broad objectives of the program:

1.  To nurture and grow early-stage women entrepreneurs in Karnataka.
2.  To accelerate the growth stage women entrepreneurs to scale up their ventures.
3.  To make startup ecosystem in Karnataka more inclusive.
4.  To create a virtual network of women entrepreneurs in Karnataka aimed at improving the ecosystem
5.  Help women founders in developing MVP,fundraising,global connections, branding, Pitching Sessions and making them investment ready.

Eligibility Criteria:

The following is the eligibility criteria for Accelerators and Incubators:

1. Accelerator/Incubator should be incorporated or registered in Karnataka.
2.  Only Not-for-Profits are eligible for submitting the proposals Not-for-profit can be any of the following:
   • A Society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
   • A Trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act 1882.
   • A Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013.
3. Accelerators and Incubators should be previously funded or currently funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST)/any central/state government agencies or having completed minimum 3 years of operations and having accelerated or incubated at least 20 startups in multiple domains. The startups should be graduated.

Structure of Elevate Women

Acceleration Program

This dedicated program will aim to accelerate existing startups that are at the growth and scale up stage. This would be a 6-month long program for selected 10- 15 startups.

Grant-in-aid Fund

The Department’s contribution towards the overall budget for running acceleration program will not exceed 40 lakh/cohort and will be provided as grant in aid fund.

Incubation Program

A dedicated Program to promote women entrepreneurship in Tier 2 and 3 cities to support early-stage women entrepreneurs to transform their idea into a business. This will be a 3-6-month program for selected 15-20 startups.

Grant-in-aid Fund

The Department’s contribution towards the overall budget for running acceleration program will not exceed 40 lakh/cohort and will be provided as grant in aid fund.

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