Women entrepreneurs present ideas at ‘Shark Tank’ event

BENGALURU: Five aspiring women entrepreneurs got a ringside view of success stories to learn from at a ‘Shark Tank’ experience conducted by Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE) in association with NASSCOM and the Department of IT, BT and S&T on Tuesday.

The startup founders were given a chance to present their business ideas and innovative products to a group of investors for potential funding. CWE also conducted the graduation of startups that had successfully completed their one-year incubation at NASSCOM. A total of eight startups were felicitated on completion of their incubation.

“CWE is a platform for 2,650 women currently in different stages of the business cycle,” Sucharita Eshwar, founder and CEO, CWE, said. The network, present in 49 cities across 16 states, was set up by the state government, and is the first technology women’s incubator. “We are proud to have organised the first ever shark tank experience for women entrepreneurs,” Eshwar added.

The startups that presented their business ideas were Cradlewise, which is in the business of smart cradles with responsive soothing advance baby monitor and hammock designed for babies’ uninterrupted sleep; Cydee Technologies, which deals with intelligent and innovation road lighting solutions; Bare Necessities - Zero Waste India, a hub for awareness on waste-free living with eco-friendly products; Talking Street, which creates a curated culinary experience for foodies; and Kriyo, which has an application that allows parents to view instant updates sent from their child’s preschool. 

The investors present at the event included Samir Kumar, MD, Inventus (India) Advisors; Revathy Ashok, angel investor, Indian Angel Network; Prashanth Prakash, founding partner, Accel India; and Usha Amin, co-founding partner, Saha Fund. They said all presentations were of high standards and have great potential.

More support to women-led startups

The department of IT, BT and S&T, in partnership with CWE will be accepting applications for women entrepreneurs for incubation at the K-Tech Innovation Hub at NASSCOM, E Champa, general manager, K-Tech, Department of IT, BT and S&T, announced on Tuesday.

The women-led startups will be chosen through a rigorous selection process and will be given access to finance, markets and networking opportunities. 

The program aims to incubate 15 startups in 2019-2020 and another 15 in 2020-2021. “We believe that this incubation space is at the right place and at the right time. Our aim is to promote innovative startups and give them the necessary push to scale their business ideas. Through CWE, we give women access to mentors, investors and a chance to network with other like-minded entrepreneurs,” Champa said.