Mumbai, August 11, 2022: Kotak Mahindra Bank has partnered with India’s top B-school Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and its start-up hub –NSRCEL, to support women entrepreneurs in building their business ventures.
The program, launched under Kotak Mahindra Bank’s CSR project on Education & Livelihood, aims to support ambitious and innovative women entrepreneurs by sharpening their managerial skills and enabling them to transform their ideas into successful business ventures.
NSCREL at IIMB started the Women Start-up Program in 2016 and it has incubated 400+ female led and owned start-ups so far. IIMB, which is an Institute of National Importance under the IIM Act of 2017, has over 100 full time faculty members, about 1200 students across various degree-granting programmes and nearly 5000 annual Executive Education participants.
The fourth edition of the program – WSP 4, will incubate early-stage companies founded by women entrepreneurs that demonstrate the potential to innovate, implement and create social or financial impact, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
The program commences with a five-week training through Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to be offered on the digital learning initiative of IIMB, IIMBx platform, for all applicants of WSP 4. In the next phase, shortlisted women will be chosen for a three-month-long virtual pre-incubation program designed by NSRCEL. In the final phase, shortlisted women entrepreneurs will be selected for incubation for 12 months by NSRCEL based on their prototypes and their pitches to the screening committee.
During incubation, the entrepreneurs would work towards product/ prototype development. They will be assessed based on their performance and growth against the milestones set at the beginning of the incubation phase. At this stage, top entrepreneurs will also receive funding support to grow their ventures.
Rohit Rao, Joint President & Group Chief CSR Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank said that “Naari Shakti” will exhibit itself in full force when top-notch women of excellent calibre will strive to seek funding for their business ideas. “With NSRCEL’s Women Startup Program, Kotak Mahindra Bank is aiming to build the next layer of fruitful business ventures run by women leaders. The participants will go through a rigorous process of selection and training. WSP 4 will give flight to their imagination and dreams,” Rao said.
An EQUIS-accredited school, IIMB is highly ranked globally for its management programs and MOOCs. NSRCEL, the startup hub at IIMB, brings together startups, industry mentors, and eminent academicians to run its various programs catering to entrepreneurs with profit ventures and social ventures ad also student and women entrepreneurs.
Speaking on importance of the programme, IIM Bangalore Director Prof Rishikesha T Krishnan, said that the cohort of the program will build a vibrant ecosystem for women-led enterprises across the country. "Our CSR partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank will enhance the entrepreneurial and managerial skills of women business leaders by supporting the incubation and funding needs of their ventures early in the ideation stage. I am confident that the cohort of the program will build a vibrant ecosystem for women-led enterprises across the country,” Prof Krishnan said.
