Tech that: Andhra Pradesh government has big plans for women entrepreneurs, says Vinutha Rallapalli
Women make up only 11 percent of the tech workforce in the state. Andhra Pradesh is all set to change that.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh is on a mission to make the state a thriving global hub of startups and innovation. It has been, for a couple of years now, working towards that mission with its multi-pronged strategy to attract entrepreneurs, manpower, and investors. It is also setting up systems in place that would enable innovators access the market through incubation and meetup events.
And at the first edition of HerStory’s Women on a Mission Summit 2019, Vinutha Rallapalli, Investments and Community Development, Innovation Valley, Government of Andhra Pradesh, detailed all the exciting plans the state has in store for entrepreneurs, and women employees and innovators as well.
Also read: How Andhra Pradesh is gearing to become a startup hub
Women in tech
What does Andhra Pradesh have in store for its women?
"We still don't have a lot many women entrepreneurs in the state," Vinutha admitted, explaining the current scenario.
The government still ranks low when it comes to women in technology. Women make up only 11 percent of the tech workforce in the state.
"That's the kind of number I would like to see change very fast," Vinutha added.
In order to bring women back to the workforce, the State government has built a post-maternity initiative to enable women to return after maternity leave.
It is also helping them find opportunities that allow them attend to other priorities.
"Startups cannot really hire full-time executors due to a funding crunch. Many experienced women are not able to take full-time work after maternity break because they have other duties. So we are trying to match these talents, and trying to engage them with one another," Vinutha explained.
And women entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh have a thing or two to cheer about.
"We want to build specific incubation and funding support for women entrepreneurs. We would like to extend what we do on the SMB side to women entrepreneurs in the technology sector to reduce the gap that currently is in the market," she added.
Catching ‘em young
But how does one ensure the innovative spirit percolates into the very fabric of a state? By getting to the students, and catching them while they are bright, young and enthusiastic.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh has come up with a startup policy, and the State government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it does not miss out on the next big idea.
It has set up 72 entrepreneurship cells across the state.
"Any person with an idea can walk in, and they would be given the guidance to build their startup," Vinutha added.
Other fun and challenging stuff are also in the offing to keep the young minds engaged.
"We just completed the SOCH (Sunrise Open Challenge Hackathon) India-Israel Hackathon, the first cross-border initiative from the State government," Vinutha said. At the hackathon, the government came up with problem statements for entrepreneurs and startups to solve.
The government has more hackathons planned with SOCH, where problems from the various government departments will be thrown open to students.
Incubation support
Besides these college level-initiatives, the Government of Andhra Pradesh provides incubation support as well. "We have sector-specific (eg, agriculture) and stage-specific (eg, early-stage startups) programmes for entrepreneurs in various fields," Vinutha pointed out.
Going forward, it is looking to set up incubation centres in every district.
She added the government wants to be the first customer of the startups. As an extension of its commitment to foster startups, it has also eased the procurement policies for startups. It is working with a startup on a government project, which will help the firm build a reputation.
"We work with a lot of agencies to ensure that the whole process is convenient for the startups," Vinutha added.
The State government is also coming up with various sector-specific initiatives. It is building an end-to-end ecosystem for certain sectors, agriculture being one of its focus areas.
Andhra Pradesh has a huge green belt, and is in the process of building an end-to-end chain of offerings from the sector. The government will support by way of infrastructure and funding for the sector as a whole. The government is also initiating special action groups for people who move back to the state from different parts of the country.
A big shout out to HerStory's Women on A Mission Summit sponsors: Co-Presenting Sponsor Microsoft, Sequoia Spark, Innovation Valley, NetApp Excellerator,Servify, ZOHO, Meesho, Arctic Fox, DROR, and Gifting Partners WoW, &Me.