Mumbai: iProspect India, the digital performance agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network announced the conclusion of its first Female Foundry bootcamp for the country and Bangladesh.
Female Foundry, an accelerator programme, is an initiative to mentor female-founded start-ups that leverage technology to promote economic sustainability.
As part of its first bootcamp, the initiative mentored 12 shortlisted female entrepreneurs from India and Bangladesh. Here, they were given access to tools and networks, training to scale platforms, and skills to create commercially viable businesses. The bootcamp was held in Mumbai on November 6, 7 and 8, 2019.
Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India – a key driver of the initiative in the country and Bangladesh said, “India and Bangladesh have undergone a huge technological and economic shift. Both the countries have witnessed the launch of numerous start-ups. Through Female Foundry, we want to support women entrepreneurs and empower them for the next growth spurt of the industry. The initiative intends to drive inclusion and a change in society.”
In its first phase, the initiative saw six mentors from across sectors sharing their expertise and guiding the selected women entrepreneurs for the next chapter of their business growth. Here, the list of mentors included Nupur Garg, expert advisor PE & founder WinPE, Deepali Naair, CMO at IBM India and South Asia, Hirak Mukherjee, chief mentor at Neotec Hub, Srirajan Seshadri, chief mentor for funds raise at Neotec Hub, Deepa Jatkar, agency partner at Facebook, and Vivek Bhargava, CEO, DAN Performance Group. The mentors underwent a 2-week training session through webinars before the bootcamp.
Nupur Garg, expert advisor PE & founder WinPE, who is also one of the mentors, said, “Mentoring is a way of gathering the accumulated wisdom of those who have gone ahead of you so that you don’t have to wait for experience to teach you life’s valuable lessons. The right mentor can enable and empower you to realize your true potential; whether it’s through sharing life-lessons or opening out networks and facilitating connections that can create professional success. The Female Foundry is a fantastic initiative that brings the power of true mentorship to female entrepreneurs and sets them on the path to success.”
The 12 women entrepreneurs from across the two countries who were part of India’s first bootcamp belong to a variety of industries and background. The applicants were shortlisted and eventually selected for the bootcamp after a rigorous selection process.
Koral Dasgupta, founder – Tellmeyourstory said, “Born in a traditional Bengali household, I have always learnt that hard work is the perfect recipe for success. However, when your time is allocated smartly between prioritized and outsourced activities, you drive better results. Every day is a chase to get there and dedicate myself to the needs of my business more intelligently. I started my venture and became my own boss. But I need a mentor who can help channelize my energy appropriately and stop me from being a slave to my own rules and processes. Thanks to Female Foundry where I can seek guidance from a rich knowledge-bank.”
iProspect India has always worked towards empowering women. In 2018, the agency launched Women@iProspect to encourage and mentor its women employees to become better leaders of tomorrow.
