NSRCEL hosts incubation of 4th cohort of Women Start-up Programme, Santhe 2023 and SHAKTI

In March, NSRCEL’s Women Start-up Programme launched the incubation of its fourth cohort, comprising 274 ventures. The Women Start-up Programme is a CSR Initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. These women entrepreneurs are fueling customer needs in 19 sectors across 24 Indian States and Union Territories.  

The full-day event featured a formal inauguration, keynote addresses and panel discussions. The incubation launch featured Himanshu Nivsarkar, Executive Vice President & Head – CSR, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Malavika R Harita, Member – Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore, Resident Mentor, NSRCEL, and Founder & CEO, Brand Circle; Dr. Srivardhini K Jha, Chairperson, NSRCEL, IIMB; Dr. Suresh Bhagavatula, faculty in the Entrepreneurship area, IIMB, and Mabel Chacko, Co-founder & COO, Open Financial Technologies.

There were two associated events. The first one was Santhe, a two-day product display event featuring 60 stalls put up by WSP founders. The second event was the launch of SHAKTI – an e-book that has been put together by the women founders. It is a collection of stories of their entrepreneurial pursuits, marked with challenges, sacrifices, losses, gains, learnings and triumphs. All expressed with their chosen letter from the acronym S.H.A.K.T.I. This book celebrates women entrepreneurs and seeks to inspire more women to follow their dreams.