Chandigarh, March 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a path-breaking development, the Women Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (W.E.E.D) initiative, a structured one-year program dedicated to fostering women-led start-ups, was officially unveiled at a press conference held at Press Club, Chandigarh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
W.E.E.D, a brain child of Navneet Kaur Dhillon, a former Femina Miss India World, actress, and entrepreneur, is a significant step towards empowering women entrepreneurs by providing them with mentorship, funding opportunities, and industry connections crucial for scaling their ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cW.E.E.D initiative is designed to address key areas vital for business where we will provide women entrepreneurs access to a strong network of mentors, investors, and experts,\u201d said Navneet Kaur Dhillon at the press meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navneet, on being asked about the reason for crossing over from the entertainment industry and taking on a new role of \u2018mentor to women entrepreneurs\u2019 said: \u201cI have always been passionate about women empowerment. I conceptualised W.E.E.D as I wanted to do something concrete to empower women. I feel that as a pageant winner, my exposure & experience will help me connect and reach out to women with start-up ideas and encourage them to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Sahil Makkar, Chairman and CEO of Punjab Angels Network (PAN) \u2013 which is committed to developing the start-up ecosystem in the region, and owns W.E.E.D as its subsidiary, said: \u201cThrough W.E.E.D, we will facilitate collaborations and partnerships for expanding reach. Through investor engagement, we will link high-potential women-led start-ups with investors for business scaling. We will help start-ups connect with financial resources to accelerate growth\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In reply to a question from the media, Makkar, an alumnus of the Indian School of Business (ISB) and executive education from IIM, Bangalore, who brings over 13 years of experience as a CA and finance educator, said: \u201cPAN has played a pivotal role in creating a thriving start-up ecosystem in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSimilarly, WEED is an initiative that will provide the much-needed support and will facilitate women entrepreneurs to thrive. Through mentorship, funding, and networking, we aim to bridge the gap and create a strong foundation for women-led businesses,\u201d added Makkar, who has written two books on start-ups — How to raise Start-up funding in India and How to Manage Finance @ Start-up’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navneet Kaur Dhillon & Sahil Makkar revealed that the W.E.E.D Program will initially select 10 women entrepreneurs for an intensive three-month mentorship, followed by the inclusion of 10 more women, focusing on scaling their businesses over the next nine months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a strong vision to support women from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, WEED aims to create a lasting impact by addressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and providing them with the tools and networks necessary for success, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the launch of WEED coincided with Transform 13.0, an event featuring a line-up of esteemed speakers and experts in women entrepreneurship. Insightful thoughts were shared by Pooja Nayar, Founder of Pratham HR and Legal Solutions, Chair, PHDCCI SHE Forum; Dr Nancy Juneja, CEO and Founder of MENTORx, also a TEDx and Josh Speaker; Ms Mamta Bhardwaj, COO, STPI NEURON Centre of Excellence(CoE) Mohali; Ms Isha Taneja, Co-Founder and CEO of Complere Infosystem, also TiE Women Chair, TiE Chandigarh, and Anuradha Chawla, Founder and CEO of Bbetter Solutions, also a performance coach and corporate trainer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chandigarh, March 8 In a path-breaking development, the Women Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (W.E.E.D) initiative, a structured one-year program dedicated to fostering women-led start-ups, was officially unveiled at a press conference held at Press Club, Chandigarh. W.E.E.D, a brain child of Navneet Kaur Dhillon, a former Femina Miss India World, actress, and entrepreneur, is a significant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[87,90,92,91],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n