WeHub, India’s first state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship, on Thursday announced its partnership with Western Digital, a leading worldwide data infrastructure provider, to launch an acceleration program focusing on Technology for Women Entrepreneurs. The acceleration program is customised for women-led technology startups in India, to equip them to be investment-ready and enable them to scale by giving access to national and international investors.
WeHub and Western Digital will work with the eight startups for a 12-week acceleration program. The selected startups will have access and customised hands-on mentoring from WE Hub’s global network of Technology support, business mentors, venture capitalists, and enterprise executives; along with Western Digital’s expertise in data-led innovation and building the startup ecosystem. The acceleration program will also enable the startups to enhance industry exposure and position them to expand their customer base. WE Hub and Western Digital together will provide conducive opportunities for access to investors and guiding the startups to market success.
Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE Hub, said, “Our work at WE Hub has been towards creating focused programs to enable the next generation of High Potential Women Entrepreneurs in the Technology space. We are excited to partner with Western Digital for the Acceleration program due to their extensive commitment to build a more inclusive work environment to support women in Technology. With our Global network of VCs, Business mentors & Product Strategists, Western Digital’s deep technical knowledge, we are extremely committed to making this 12-week acceleration program a truly outcome driven one for the startups.
A total of eight startups have been selected from seven cities, out of the 963 applications received from all over India. From the 963 applications, 40 were shortlisted and were part of the Data Innovation Bazaar 2020 - conducted by Western Digital in collaboration with Startup India, Invest India, MeitY, DST, and TiE Delhi-NCR. Data Innovation Bazaar aimed to provide a platform to startups to showcase their potential to solve key issues of national importance, by leveraging the power of data. The selected startups, majority of which are early traction stage, will be supported to create cutting edge innovations in the sectors of Healthcare, Education, and Agriculture.
The eight startups for the acceleration program are: Aarca Research, AarogyaAI, Bioscan Research, Empiezo IT Solutions, Innogle, MedMarvel Software Solutions, Paraclete Image Labs, and Edubuk.
This three-month long acceleration program was kicked off by Jayesh Ranjan, Telangana Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce and IT; Supria Dhanda, Vice President & Country Manager for India, Western Digital; and Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE Hub.
Supria Dhanda, Vice President and Country Manager for India at Western Digital said, “Western Digital’s endeavour is to encourage and help women entrepreneurs succeed in the technology start-up ecosystem. The idea behind this joint initiative is to provide a platform for women innovators to showcase their ideas and offer the guidance required to accelerate their business. With WE Hub and Government of Telangana, we want to deepen our commitment to this cause, spark more technology innovation, and catalyse the start-up ecosystem of India.”