NEW DELHI: A newly created ‘herSTART’ platform has been introduced to promote women startups and to encourage women entrepreneurs.
This was disclosed by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, while addressing the plenary session of the Bharat Startup Summit and Expo 2023 organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Minister also informed that the government has also introduced a monthly allowance of ₹20,000 for up to one year for women-led startups.
Highlighting the increasing presence of women as entrepreneurs, Dr Jitendra Singh said that women-led business enterprises are playing a noticeable role in society by generating employment opportunities in the country, bringing in demographic shifts and inspiring the next generation of women founders. He added that at least 36 unicorns and potential unicorns in India have at least one woman founder or a co-founder. The government is committed towards creating an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurship through initiatives, schemes, networks and communities and activating partnerships among diverse stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.
The Minister said that the Startup India Action Plan of the Government is a very important step for strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. The action plan is intended to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation in India as an engine for both economic growth and employment generation.
Dr Jitendra Singh emphasised that today India is home to more than 93,000 DPIIT recognized startups and 108 Unicorns. Over the past four years, this number has been increasing exponentially, with a whopping 66 per cent Year-on-Year growth in the number of additional unicorns being added every year. While work from home during the pandemic fuelled the growth of digital businesses in India, it also resulted in startup boom.
“We are gradually transitioning from the age of unicorns to the age of decacorns. As of January 2023, 47 companies world over have achieved the decacorn status. Presently, India has five Startups namely, Flipkart, BYJU’s, Nykaa, Swiggy and PhonePe added in the decacorn cohort”, the Minister added.
