I-Venture@ISB has launched Women of Innovation (I-WIN) Program to help women-led startups scale

For years, entrepreneurship has been a male preserve. And it has been that way for a while. As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, there is a persistent lack of women in leadership positions, with women representing just 27 percent of all managerial positions.

Despite these bleak figures, there has been a seismic shift in the mindset. The past decade has seen India’s entrepreneurial landscape thrive, as some courageous women have made a name for themselves and inspired others to follow their dreams. Recently unicorn leaders such as Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar made headlines after the company’s successful IPO. Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Portea Medical’s Meena Ganesh, VLCC’s Vandana Luthra, and many others have led the way.

Today, more and more women are entering the space and hoping to make a mark with their startups. But one thing they all need is support.

To that end, I-Venture @ ISB through its incubator ISB DLabs has launched its Women of Innovation (I-WIN) Program to provide support to women-founded or co-founded startups by hand-holding entrepreneurs and mentoring them through their scaling up journey.

Winning with I-WIN

Known to foster and nurture startups, I-Venture @ ISB administers business incubators that provide ‘start-to-scale’ support for entrepreneurship and facilitates the conversion of startups into profitable entrepreneurial ventures. Since inception, the program has been aiming to create a strong ecosystem of mentors, VCs, and academia to help startups evolve.

In tune with their consistent effort to uplift the startup ecosystem, the team has launched I-WIN to mentor women entrepreneurs to scale up their business modules and pave new growth avenues.

“Having women entrepreneurs is important for the economy’s growth because their participation directly impacts the improvement of the standard of living and helps in job creation. Well-equipped women entrepreneurs help in opening newer growth avenues bringing about positive outcomes at the community level. We see I-WIN as another programme in that direction,” said Saumya Kumar, Director, I-Venture @ ISB.

What’s in store?

I-WIN will help women-led startups grow, utilising ISB’s network of experts, mentors and VCs. The program will start with online applications, shortlisting candidates, a three-month long training period, and conclude with a final demo day, giving startups the opportunity to showcase their products and innovations.

I-WIN offers a lot of features that could be beneficial to entrepreneurs. It guides startups in fine-tuning their business model, exploring fundraising avenues, and forging new partnerships. It helps them with go-to-market strategies, process standardisation, internationalisation opportunities, and pilot chances. Participants can truly grow and mine precious insights through the multi-pronged approach adopted by I-Venture @

ISB.

Who can participate?

The program caters to women-founded or co-founded startups. Sector-agnostic startups with a minimum of one-year incorporation and proof of concept stage ventures can apply. Both nonprofit and for-profit ventures can reap the benefits of the I-WIN programme.

To participate in I-WIN or to know more about the program, click here: I-WIN (isbdlabs.org)