NSRCEL hosts ‘Cohort Connect & Closure 2025’ for women entrepreneurs of the Women Startup Program

In September, NSRCEL hosted women entrepreneurs from the second incubation phase of the Women Startup Program, a CSR initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank, for ‘Cohort Connect & Closure 2025’.

The event saw a powerful mix of women-led start-ups across sectors such as Healthcare, EdTech, Green Tech, Consumer Goods, and more – all solving real problems with real impact while leveraging cutting-edge tech like AI, IoT, Blockchain, and Cloud to power the next wave of innovation. The key speakers at the event included Dr. Srivardhini K. Jha, Chairperson, NSRCEL; Anand Sri Ganesh, CEO, NSRCEL; Himanshu Nivsarkar, Senior EVP and Head of CSR & ESG, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Mili Srivastava, Head of BD, DIAGEO India; Anubhi Khandelwal, Founder and CEO, Terafac, and Svetha Ravi, MD, Arali Ventures.

On Day 1 of the event, 30 women founders took the stage during ‘Founder’s Stage’, where they pitched their solutions to, and shared their start-up journeys with, investors and ecosystem leaders across the board.

Day 2 featured the closing ceremony of the incubation phase. Packed with reflection, learning and celebration, the cohort tuned in a panel discussion on: ‘Funding the Future: Unlocking Capital for Women Founders’, featuring discussions on key strategies and challenges in securing funding as a women founder.

With this, NSRCEL also got its 10 grant-winning ventures from the cohort, which are building innovative solutions driving strong impact. The 10 grant-winners, selected from the top 30 shortlisted ventures, won a total of Rs. 1 crore as grants, with each winner being awarded Rs. 10 lakhs.

The conversations, insights and achievements reflect the growing momentum of women-led start-ups shaping the future of entrepreneurship.