In a major push for women entrepreneurship, the Punjab Government has felicitated 10 women-led startups in the state on the 78th Independence Day for their valuable contributions to enhancing and influencing Punjab’s innovation ecosystem. These female founders, who are making remarkable progress, were recognised during the district-level I-Day celebrations.
These startups are being supported through the Startup’s Handholding & Empowerment (SHE) Initiative of the Punjab State Innovation Council, led by the Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST).
The initiative is a part of Mission Innovate Punjab led by Department of Science, Technology & Environment, GoP to technologically empower female startups for creating ventures, generating employment and boosting economic growth of the State. These Startups, while working on priority areas, are promoting novel technologies and interventions for creating positive impact on societal development.
Government of Punjab is providing conducive environment for these women entrepreneurs to thrive. In line with State Government’s vision for diversification and promoting millets as sustainable and nutritious crop, three young startups, Dr. Vipasha Sharma, MKelly Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Aman & Dr. Daman Walia of Millet Sisters, and Dr. Rosy Singla of Rosy Foods are playing vital role in enhancing nutritional profile of millets, developing customized ready-to-eat products and beverages for pregnant women, lactating mothers, undernourished children and diabetics. One of the startup, Dr. Ritu Mahajan, RiBioP AgroTech Pvt. Ltd., has created an innovative biodegradable & non-toxic composition for preparing nano-bio-pesticides.
Among healthcare based startups, Dr. Gowri Jayamurgan, Gowriz Skin Care Pvt. Ltd. is working to produce biomass-based natural sunscreen formulation with anti-ageing and anti-cancer properties; Ms. Shakuntala, JV-Scan Pvt. Ltd. for AI based voice analysis tool for detecting illness at early stage through mobiles; Dr. Pallavi Bansal, TeamMed Care is providing AI based real-time health tracking for pregnant women, enabling healthcare professionals to monitor maternal health effectively. Other two startups, KreatKnit by Ms. Pooja Kaushik and Sakhiyan by Nancy Bhola are creating sustainable products from textile waste engaging underprivileged women, weavers, and artisans from rural areas of Punjab under Social Entrepreneurship Model. Another Startup, Ms. Hardeep Kaur, Indona Innovative Solutions has designed water flow restrictor for reducing water wastage.
Congratulating the Startups, Er. Pritpal Singh, Executive Director PSCST, informed that SHE is the initiative of PSCST under which potential women startups from colleges, universities and research institutions are being provided resources, mentorship and funding for supporting their ventures.
The initiative is being taken under leadership and guidance of Secretary, Science, Technology and Environment, Punjab. Further, PSCST would be launching call for SHE Cohort 3.0 shortly, urging girl students to register for the Program.
Dr. Dapinder Kaur Bakshi, Joint Director-cum-Program Leader, informed that PSCST has undertaken massive awareness campaigns in the State in the last two years, sensitising more than 3500 female students. While many startups have performed very well, 20 more are being mentored with the support of leading incubators and enablers, especially TBI-IISER Mohali, AWaDH IIT-Ropar, GJCEI-GNDU, Amritsar, PABI–PAU Ludhiana, STEP – Thapar Institute, Patiala and Chandigarh Angels Network. She thanked Punjab Govt. for recognizing the efforts and dedication of the women.