IIM Sirmaur Partners with IIM Bangalore for Women Startup Programme 2018
IIM Sirmaur is partnering with IIM Bangalore's NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning for the Women Startup Programme 2018. The programme is in its second iteration this year, and has been scaled up considerably. The Women Startup Programme intends to enthuse aspiring women entrepreneurs to systematically think through their venture idea. The programme aims to help women develop entrepreneurial skills critical for transitioning from the ideation stage to implementation. In addition, the programme builds managerial skill sets essential to start and grow ventures. The programme is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Goldman Sachs.
The programme is planned in three stages. The first stage consists of registrants undertaking a six week MOOC developed by eminent faculty at IIM Bangalore. The MOOC covers specific sociological and psychological research-based inputs to help women overcome hurdles and lead their ventures successfully. More than a thousand budding entrepreneurs completed the MOOC and submitted their startup ideas. Of the entries received, the top three hundred are slated to attend bootcamps at all partner centres.
IIM Sirmaur will host fifteen women entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds and innovative startup ideas from April 2-7 for an intensive bootcamp concluding with a day of pitches. Interactive sessions are planned on challenges of being first-time entrepreneurs, marketing, negotiation and decision making for startups, mobilizing mind body and soul through dance, design thinking, and others. Sessions will be delivered by Anil Chhikara, founder and Chairman of Startup India Foundation, Shubho Sengupta, Digital Brand Consultant and advisor to the Ministry of Information and Technology; Jasmeet K Shan, founder of Dance Dacha company, which focuses on mobilising the movement arts for communication, healing and self-realisation; and Prashant Gautam, co-founder of Acadly, an EdTech platform that boosts participation and communication inside and outside the classroom.
After the final pitches at the bootcamps across all partnering centres, the top one hundred venture ideas will receive incubation and fellowship for a year, prototype funds for initial development and potential seed support.
