Tech Mahindra and NITI Aayog collaborate to support women entrepreneurs in India

Tech Mahindra announced a collaboration with NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support women entrepreneurs across the country. Tech Mahindra will provide mentorship, co-create solutions leveraging new age technologies and support in developing a go-to-market strategy.

As part of the collaboration, Tech Mahindra has partnered with the winners of Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards, an initiative of NITI Aayog to recognise women leaders in entrepreneurship across various sectors like Healthcare and Lifesciences, Agritech, Education amongst others. Tech Mahindra’s Research & Development arm, Makers lab will support women entrepreneurs through joint research, building go-to-market strategies to drive their growth and by leveraging next-generation technologies to develop cutting-edge solutions.

CP Gurnani, managing director and chief executive officer, Tech Mahindra, said: “Empowering women and creating equal opportunities play a crucial role in building and sustaining a gender-equal world. Our partnership with WEP will enable us to nurture an ecosystem for women entrepreneurs that can foster entrepreneurial conditions as well as facilitate technological support for innovative ideas and better positioning.”

Through this collaboration, Tech Mahindra and WEP will jointly focus on breeding new ideas, identifying gaps and providing technological prowess to develop innovative solutions for better positioning in the market and commercial success.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said: “The next-big disruption in the Indian start-up ecosystem will be driven by women-led entrepreneurs, with digital platforms being the biggest enabler. This partnership with Tech Mahindra underscores our mutual commitment of leveraging new-age technologies to uplift societies and support the aspirations of women entrepreneurs in India."

The WTI Awards comes under the aegis of WEP, a first of its kind, unified access portal which brings together ecosystem players and industry to provide support to women entrepreneurs from different parts of India and help them realize their entrepreneurial aspirations.

Nikhil Malhotra, Global Head of Makers Lab, Tech Mahindra, said: “Women constitute a critical part of our workforce and their up-skilling in digital technologies is going to be a key driver in promoting entrepreneurship to build a self-reliant India. Our collaboration with NITI Aayog, as part of our TechMNxt charter, is an opportunity to support established as well as aspiring women entrepreneurs. In line with the same, we are enabling 10 women entrepreneurs working in the domain of Technology, Health, Lifesciences, Agritech, and Education to scale up growth.”

Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards are organised in partnership with the United Nations and recognise and celebrate the contributions of women who are not just addressing and solving key societal challenges but also challenging the stereotypes and breaking the glass ceiling.

Anna Roy, Senior Adviser, NITI Aayog, said: "WEP aims to empower women in their entrepreneurial journey by creating an enabling ecosystem for them and supporting them in overcoming systemic barriers and contextual challenges. We are happy to partner with Tech Mahindra to facilitate a transformational and inspirational journey for the WTI winners."