In Gujarat, the number of startups approved by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with at least one female director climbed by 168 per cent between 2020 and 2022, from 348 to 933, higher than the national average, according to a recent report by the Lok Sabha. This trend is encouraging because it shows how important women are becoming to innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to city-based incubators, the rise in the number of female founders is mostly attributed to unique funding opportunities and flagship initiatives offered by various states and privately-funded incubators. According to Ankit Dave, the interim CEO of GUSEC, 50 firms run by women receive mentorship and incubation each year. "We observe an increase in applications each year, along with a growing diversity of fields. The third cohort's boot camp just ended, and they responded well," he remarked.
Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) launched HerSTART, a platform for female-founded businesses, offering a year-round accelerator program and a dedicated incubator for high-impact startups.
However, experts advised against categorizing the phenomenon in any one way. Under the condition of anonymity, the co-founder of a business in the city stated, "The numbers are rising, but one must also see how they are surviving, whether the woman cofounder is just an inclusion exercise or they get to call the shots, and most importantly, are investors trusting them."
