- Selected startups will get a chance to pitch to a panel of angel/early-stage investors, accelerators as well as corporate houses
- BRTSIF is a joint venture between BSE Institute, Mumbai and Ryerson University, Toronto and Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
Zone Startups India (ZSI), in partnership with Startup India, has announced a call for entries to participate in the recently launched virtual two-month program. The program is named Virtual Incubation Program for Women Entrepreneurs (VIP-WE).
“Under the present circumstances, the virtual or digital incubation and mentorship program is the best option. Women entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges worldwide. The
reason 100 Open Startups partnered with Zone Startup India as their global strategic
partner is that women entrepreneurs worldwide and in India can add value and can
also learn from each other,” noted Varad Rajan Krishna, founder and CEO, 100 Open Startups.
He added, “We would like to bring more visibility for the founders through various global events and initiatives thereby creating more opportunities for business and investments.”
Zone Startups India is a part of the BIL Ryerson Technology Startup Incubator Foundation (BRTSIF). It is a joint venture between BSE Institute, Mumbai and Ryerson University, Toronto and Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
The pitch part
The program will kick-off with 100 Open Startups as the Global Strategic Partner with
access to their extensive global ecosystem, Cisco Webex as the Technology Partner
along with a host of investors as well as Business Support Services Partners in a
collaborative effort to boost women entrepreneurship in India.
“And the program will end with a virtual Demo Day, where the startups will get a chance to pitch to a panel of angel/early-stage investors, accelerators as well as corporate houses,” read company’s official statement.
Additionally, while all 20 startups qualify for Global Level 3 of 100 Open Startups
Global Movement, the top three selected startups will qualify for Global Level 4 of the
same challenge.
“Startups can also subscribe to cloud services, legal and financial and other business support services via credits and/or discounted offerings through this program,” the statement read.
“We are delighted to join hands with Startup India, who has been doing path-breaking
work in the areas of innovation and startup ecosystem enablement. Our virtual
incubation program will allow mentors, business services providers, investors and
corporate innovation departments to connect virtually to these startups. By creating
a virtual platform to nurture women led startups we have expanded our reach to
support women from even the hinterland of our country,” said Hemant Gupta, Managing Director, Zone Startups India.
He added, “Our program outreach will also cover the hinterland cities of India apart from metros. Catalysing tech innovations by enabling women founders to take their idea forward and make available to them a larger platform to find collaborators, customers and investors in order to succeed, is what we hope to deliver via our VIP-WE program”