Press Release
Managing and running a household requires multi-tasking and time management skills, equipping women to become successful entrepreneurs. The need of the hour is ‘Re-skilling’ of women and rekindling of their latent business potential. This was stated by Secretary Science & Technology Department, Government of Rajasthan, Ms. Mugdha Sinha. She was delivering the Special Address at the launch of Project ‘Her & Now’ at Hotel The Lalit. Project ‘Her & Now’ is the first of its kind incubation and acceleration program for women entrepreneurs in Rajasthan. The Project has been launched by GIZ, a German development agency that provides services in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and is being implemented in Rajasthan by Startup Oasis
Ms. Sinha urged all the women entrepreneurs present on the occasion to benefit from the various schemes of the Department of Science and Technology. She further suggested that knowledge of patenting, copyright and legal contracts is essential for the empowerment of women. She concluded her address by pointing out that with increasing mechanisation and boom in technology, one must ensure that jobs of women are not being taken away and technology is gender sensitive.
The ‘Her & Now’ Project Head from GIZ, Ms. Julia Karst said that the ‘Her & Now’ Project has been funded by the Government of Germany and is being launched in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE), Government of India to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India. After Rajasthan, the Project will also be launched in two more States – Telangana and Assam.
Throwing light on the structure of the programme, CEO, Startup Oasis, Mr. Chintan Bakshi said that the cohort-based 7-month incubation and acceleration program will include two-day long 7 contact sessions which will feature workshops, diagnostic panels and mentoring clinics, among others. He further added that entrepreneurs need experience, action and learnings rather than purely knowledge-based sessions. Thus, all sessions will conclude with an action agenda and begin with the review of the previous action agenda.
Panel Discussion on Women in Entrepreneurship – Moving Beyond the Platitudes
The launch was followed by a panel discussion on the topic ‘Women in Entrepreneurship – Moving Beyond the Platitudes’. The panel saw the participation of women entrepreneurs of Rajasthan like Ms. Sheenu Jhawar, Ms. Puja Arya, Ms. Seema Shah and Ms. Ajaita Shah. The discussion was moderated by Associate Vice President, Startup Oasis, Dr. Pallavi Tak. The talk centered around topics like – entrepreneurial journey, platitudes, subconscious biases and challenges.
This was followed by an interactive Q&A session with the attending women entrepreneurs. Some women entrepreneurs also shared their perspectives and stories on entrepreneurship. Earlier, Associate – Programs, Startup Oasis, Ms. Pallavi Choudhary welcomed all the guests.