WE-Hub would soon work with Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) so as to help self help groups (SHGs) to scale up.
The announcement of partnership with the MEPMA came at the WE-Hub’s first anniversary celebrations on Friday.
The collaboration between them would see WE-Hub providing SHGs of the MEPMA the required entrepreneurial training, mentorship and networking opportunities. WE-Hub would use MEPMA’s existing database of SHGs to identify those that have the potential to scale up. Addressing the gathering, Deepthi Ravula, chief executive officer, WE-Hub, said in an effort to support women entrepreneurs, WE-Hub has partnered with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, T-Hub, Telangana State Innovation Cell, Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad and National Academy of Agricultural Research Management.
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T.K. Sreedevi, Mission Director, MEPMA, pointed out the difficulties that several women face when they try their hand at small entrepreneurial activities to ‘come out of poverty’. Several government-led initiatives were launched, but they could only reach a fraction of those in need of assistance. Touching upon identifying women with entrepreneurial potential, Ms. Sreedevi said the collaboration with WE-Hub has enabled 26 out of 100 women entrepreneurs to go to the ‘next level’.
U.S. Consul-General in Hyderabad Katherina B. Hadda underscored women-led start-ups receiving low equity funding both in the U.S. and India. “In the most recent year, only 2% of all equity funding raised in India went to women-led start-ups. Global figures aren’t very encouraging either. More venture capital money flows through Silicon Valley than through any other area in the world, yet just 3% of America’s venture capital-backed start-ups are led by women,” she said.
She said India could boost its growth by 1.5%, if the representation of women in the workforce is increased from 24% to 50%.
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British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Fleming also spoke on the occasion.