WE Hub: A Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurship in Telangana

Initiatives Innovations

Posted by pallavi on 2024-10-01 07:53:24 |

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WE Hub: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Telangana

WE Hub is a pioneering state-led platform dedicated to promoting and nurturing women entrepreneurship through incubation, access to government resources, and fostering a collaborative ecosystem. Since its establishment, WE Hub has conducted various programs targeting three primary beneficiary segments.

Startup Vertical

The Startup Incubation vertical at WE Hub supports women entrepreneurs from metropolitan and Tier-1 regions across India, helping them validate their ideas, scale their businesses, and become investor-ready.

Pre-Incubation: This initiative raises awareness and provides coaching to aspiring women entrepreneurs, ensuring that promising ideas develop into prototypes. Currently, WE Hub is supporting 67 entrepreneurs through the following programs:

- UPsurge: Launched in collaboration with the Australian Consulate in Chennai, this program aims to assist 120 aspiring women entrepreneurs over four cohorts, each lasting 12 weeks, in validating their ideas and developing Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). The second cohort included 23 entrepreneurs from three Indian states and the U.S.

- Greater 50 – WE Spark: In partnership with FICCI Flo, this initiative provides women entrepreneurs access to technical, financial, government, and policy support needed for scaling up and accessing global markets.

Incubation: This initiative ensures women entrepreneurs nationwide have pathways to scale their startups and prepare for investment.

- Incubation Cohort 3: The flagship incubation program selected 25 startups from six Indian cities. Launched in November 2021, this cohort comprises 26 entrepreneurs from diverse sectors, including EdTech, FinTech, FMCG, HealthTech, AgriTech, DeepTech, OceanTech, e-commerce, retail, and live commerce.

- FLO Incubation: In partnership with FICCI Flo, WE Hub initiated a 6-month incubation program for five startups.- WEnture: Curated with i-Hub Gujarat, this program supports 11 entrepreneurs across India, including five from WE Hub and six from i-Hub.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Vertical

The SME vertical focuses on enabling aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs and women in business in Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions of Telangana. A total of 354 entrepreneurs have benefited from various programs, classified into two categories:

- Livelihoods/Women in Business

- Small and Micro Enterprises

Programs Initiated:

- Rural Incubation: WE Hub launched its flagship rural incubation program to accelerate existing enterprises into SMEs and strengthen local supply chains. It currently supports 17 rural women entrepreneurs across Telangana.

- Model Municipality Project: In collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Ramagundam, WE Hub launched a 6-month Sustainable Livelihoods project in June 2021 to digitally and financially empower existing and aspiring women in livelihood businesses. This initiative includes tailored Enterprise Development Programs (EDPs) and has sanctioned loans amounting to Rs. 7,39,20,882 to 166 enterprises.

- WE Hub – TRICOR Incubation Program: The second cohort launched in 2021, with 93 entrepreneurs, supports women entrepreneurs by linking them with banks to establish sustainable enterprises, amounting to INR 5,09,61,264 in funding. This initiative is a first under the Tribal Welfare Department, marking a shift from a beneficiary model to an entrepreneurship model.

- Dalit Bandhu: WE Hub facilitated the implementation of Dalit Bandhu in Karimnagar District, aiming to instill an entrepreneurial mindset among women. A total of 790 women received EDP training, with 174 being supported to establish their businesses.

Student Entrepreneurship Vertical

To encourage more girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), WE Hub has designed programs for age groups 13-18 and 18-24.

- Girls in STEM – Schools: Launched for the 13-18 age group, this program focuses on Data Science skills and has selected 75 students from six international schools, including four from Hyderabad, one from Jammu and Kashmir, and one from Assam. In collaboration with Stanford University’s WIDS initiative, students learned theory and applied concepts using the Matlab platform.

- WE Alpha: Targeted at the 18-24 age group, this program supports ideas from 12 students across six women’s colleges in Telangana, with faculty guided on creating outcome-driven Student Entrepreneurship Programs by leaders from the Telangana Innovation Ecosystem.

Need-Based Interventions

Access to Finance

- Startup India Seed Fund: WE Hub has been selected as an incubator under the Startup India Seed Fund scheme, receiving Rs. 5 crores, of which Rs. 4.5 crores have been sanctioned to 13 startups—marking the first time WE Hub invested in startups directly.

- Funding Support: WE Hub has prepared startups to pitch and raise funds through various channels, securing Rs. 4.25 crores in equity, Rs. 90 lakhs in grants, and Rs. 5 lakhs in debt.

Access to Markets

- Business to Government (B2G) Pilot: WE Hub collaborated with the Government of Telangana for projects such as:

  - Renovation of a Palliative Care Center in Rajanna Sircilla District at a cost of Rs. 11,96,839.

  - Renovation of an Anganwadi Center at Gudem Village for Rs. 26,76,791.

  - Designing and manufacturing uniforms for frontline health workers amounting to Rs. 2.45 crores.

- B2B – WE TRADE: In collaboration with CII Indian Women Network (CII IWN), WE Hub launched “WE TRADE,” a platform for B2B connections to enhance market access for women-led SMEs.

- Business to Business (B2B) – Launchpad: This six-week market readiness program improves market access for women entrepreneurs, equipping them with tools to become market-ready while creating forward linkage support channels for FMCG sector entrepreneurs. In partnership with QMART, WE Hub created a “WE Corner,” the first retail forward linkage support channel for women entrepreneurs, which currently features over 20 brands and 170 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), generating average monthly revenue between Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 1,50,000.

Access to Information & Networks

- LauncHer: A unique Entrepreneur Awareness Initiative offering a 20-part video series to guide aspiring women entrepreneurs in Telangana on starting and running a business.

- Dubai Expo 2020: Five WE Hub incubates showcased their ventures at the Innovation Bus from November 8 to 11, 2021, pitching to potential investors and consumers.

Partnerships

WE Hub has established an MoU with MathWorks to develop a customized curriculum promoting entrepreneurship among women, focusing on STEM fields and providing startup support in the Deep Learning sector, along with subsidized access to the Matlab platform for WE Hub-incubated startups.

Additionally, in partnership with Meesho, WE Hub onboarded 183 women from five districts in Telangana, aiming to support ten thousand Homepreneurs with access to social commerce and bridging the digital divide.

Go!