IIM Udaipur inaugurates first batch of Women-in-tech accelerator programme

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIM) Udaipur Incubation Centre has inaugurated the first batch of the new Women-in-Tech (WiT) accelerator programme for female founders of start-ups with the aim to encourage and support women’s participation in tech, data, and management careers. Candidates can apply for the 12-week long Women-in-Tech Accelerator programme on the IIM Udaipur Incubation Centre's webpage -- womenintech.iimuic.org. The last date to submit the applications is June 15, 2022.

According to a statement from IIM Udaipur, it is a participant-centred accelerator programme which is supported by the department of science and technology. The programme has been designed with the aim to support innovative and scalable women-led tech ventures for female founders who wants to acquire the tools, knowledge, and connections to upgrade their startup.

According to IIM Udaipur, the WiT accelerator programme is ideal for India-based seed to early-stage revenue-generating tech businesses with Indian founders and operations. To be eligible for the programme, the startups should meet the following criteria: :

• The participating woman should be a member of the founder’s team with a significant equity stake or should be in a position of C-suite leadership.
• The preferred startups are those based on technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain etc.
• The applicant should have achieved some degree of validation or traction. She should have a viable product or service market fit, viable for commercialization, and has a scope of scaling.
• The startup should be legally incorporated and in existence for more than a year

Also read | NAS 2021: Class 3 to Class 8, SC, SC, OBC students steadily fall behind peers

About 15 women entrepreneurs will be selected for the acceleration program by the IIM Udaipur Incubation Centre by assessing the application form and interviews. The women-led startups that qualify for the IIM Udaipur course will receive a cash prize of up to ₹50,000, training, mentoring and technical guidance, claims the institute. These startups will also be introduced to corporate leaders and industry experts, and they will get networking opportunities with potential investors. The selected startups will also receive ongoing advisory support for the next 12 months.

Only about 24 percent of women hold senior leadership positions in technology, says the data by IDC. The IIM Udaipur Women-in-tech accelerator programme intends to support gender diversity in the workplace and hence add value to business, economy, and society.

Also read | India’s new IAU astronomy centre will assess quality of astronomy education in schools