HexGn, an online startup pre-accelerator in collaboration with Invest India has launched a new programme for women entrepreneurs called "Startup Ready Programme". The three-month programme aims to fast-track opportunities for women technologists and innovators, working towards advancing key emerging technologies and propelling the vision of a self-reliant New India.
Startup Ready Programme is open for women-led early-stage ventures or startup teams and the session participation is only for women. The programme is an entrepreneurship learning program that is focused on science and technology-based ideas.
Unlike other accelerators that require one to move across the country and give up 5-10 percent of a startup, this programme is 100 percent equity-free and one can participate from anywhere in the world.
“Our women entrepreneurs are not only helping the country’s economic growth but also playing a pivotal role in leaving a positive impact on society. Invest India is committed to strengthening the women entrepreneurship ecosystem, through programmes, innovation challenges, and the creation of robust networks. Our partnership with HexGn for this Programme is another step in this direction," says, Mr. Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO.
Mr. Rahul Nayar, Vice President Invest India added, “Indian women are at the very forefront of global innovation – leading advanced technology programmes across the world, from artificial intelligence to space exploration. This collaboration recognizes the importance of ensuring India's women have access to innovation opportunities and, is a small step towards delivering this long-overdue need.”
HexGn is associated with governments and private entities in 20+ countries. It helps the countries to make their ecosystems and institutions more entrepreneurial and future-proof.
The applicants can register for the programme on the Startup India portal.
Startup India is a dedicated portal for promoting women's entrepreneurship, through curated programmes such as the HexGn Startup Ready Programme.
Startup India Scheme is an initiative by the Government of India for the generation of employment and wealth creation. The goal of Startup India is the development and innovation of products and services and increasing the employment rate in India.
"We are not only focused on reducing the gender gap when it comes to choosing entrepreneurship as a career track but also making the startup ecosystem in India more inclusive so that women founders can scale their ventures with ease.” says, Aastha Grover, Head, Startup India Hub at Invest India.
Women's education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. The latest data puts India's adult literacy rate at 73.2 percent. While the country has made significant progress in improving literacy over the years, it continues to be home to 313 million illiterate people of which 59 percent of them are women. As per the All India Survey of Higher Education report, female enrolment in higher education has increased to 4.6 percent in the last six years.
This shows that India has come a long way in increasing women’s participation in education and the economy as a whole. Access to early-stage support will bolster the journey of women entrepreneurs in the country.
“Entrepreneurship will enable women to play a pivotal rather than a peripheral role in New India. We are delighted to support budding women entrepreneurs, who are leveraging technology to lay the foundation of the next generation of businesses in urban & rural India” says, JappreetSethi, CEO, HexGn.
The first step towards motivating women entrepreneurs is to empower women with innovative knowledge and tools, this, in turn, builds the global enterprises from India.
The HexGn Startup Ready Programme coincides with the launch of the INR 945 Crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
From April 2021 the selected startups can get up to INR 20 lakh as a grant and at the commercialization stage an additional INR 50 lakh in convertible debentures.
