IIMB’s NSRCEL, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women to help women entrepreneurs raise funds
The new initiative aims at equipping women entrepreneurs with a better understanding of business and finance alongside providing them with mentoring and networking opportunities to accelerate their fundraising journey.
NSRCEL, the incubation arm of IIM Bangalore (IIMB), in collaboration with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, a global initiative that fosters economic growth of women entrepreneurs, has launched 'Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth' programme in India.
The new initiative aims at equipping women entrepreneurs with a better understanding of business and finance, alongside providing them with mentoring and networking opportunities to accelerate fundraising.
The first cohort of the programme is all set to commence on August 7, 2023.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth programme offers three modules. The first module is a basic finance course accessible to the investment banking company's 10,000 Women graduates in India. Upon completing this module, a second advanced finance module will be made available to a chosen group of high-potential women entrepreneurs.
The final module includes personalised mentoring from IIMB faculty, finance industry experts, bankers, venture capitalists, and angel investors. This mentoring provides practical guidance and advice tailored to each entrepreneur's specific needs.
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“Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women graduates have positively impacted India’s economy by quadrupling their business revenue, doubling their workforce, and collectively creating 12,000 new jobs. Our new initiative aims to help these women make an even bigger impact, by providing the tools and resources needed to access capital—the biggest barrier they face to growing their businesses further,” says Charlotte Keenan, Global head of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women.
In the same vein, Anand Sri Ganesh, COO, NSRCEL shared, “This initiative underlines our commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs across the country by providing them with relevant education and mentorship to grow and scale their ventures. We hope our women alumni make the most of this opportunity to spot and nurture new opportunities in business, build and grow successful ventures and transform themselves.”
This move of launching the new initiative comes after a study of over 2,400 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women graduates across India. It revealed that a majority of these women entrepreneurs needed a deeper understanding of the available funding options and how best to access external capital to drive business growth.
According to the study, 40% of entrepreneurs used bank overdrafts, 38% took business loans, and 33% sought capital from friends or family to address their business financing requirements.
The programme aims at helping the participants gain essential financial knowledge, develop advanced skills, and receive valuable support to fuel their growth and success in their entrepreneurial endeavours.
Edited by Kanishk Singh
