Hyderabad: State-run startup incubator WE HUB and the Ramagundam Municipal Corporation on today launched ‘Project Inclusion’, a programme for women who run businesses. The initiative aims to inculcate digital literacy and financial inclusion for 500 micro-enterprises led by businesswomen by November 2021.
WE HUB is India’s first and only state-led incubator (run by the Telangana government) which has been set up to foster and promote women entrepreneurship. On Wednesday, WE HUB formally exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Ramagundam Municipal Corporation (RMC) for establishing its satellite office in RMC.
The MoU was inked between Mr. Uday Kumar, IAS, Commissioner, Ramagundam Municipal Corporation, and Ms. Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB, in the presence of Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Telangana, IT E&C Department.
WE HUB and RMC said that they envision making this a role model project in the country by grounding women-led enterprises at scale and ensuring the sustainability of the enterprises. “The core philosophy behind this project is not only to bring more women into the workforce but also to create role model enterprises led by businesswomen who will generate employment in the municipal corporation,” said a press release.
For this project, the State Bank of India has come on board as the exclusive banking partner. ‘There is no tool more effective for women than their economic development, which has a direct proportional improvement in the economy of the country. I am happy to see WE HUB and Ramagundam Municipal Corporation coming together to help the women of Telangana realize their economic, social, and financial goals,” said Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (ITE&C), government of Telangana.
Ranjan added that along with the multiple international and national ventures by WE HUB, he is hoping that this model project will help the startup incubator to equip women entrepreneurs in Telangana and scale it with many more departments locally and across India.
Ms. Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB, said that women-led businesses have in some ways stagnated due to the digital and financial non-inclusion. “Through our experience of supporting women entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises from various districts of Telangana, our finding has been that entrepreneurs thrive when government, financial institutions, entrepreneurship enablers like WE HUB come together to provide policy, financial, and incubation support,” she added.