WE HUB Selects 26 Women-led Urban Tech Startups for the Third Cohort of its Incubation Program

Hyderabad : WE HUB, India’s first state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start up, scale up and accelerate with global market access, today announced the launch of the third edition of its flagship incubation program. This edition will consist of 26 selected women-led urban tech start-ups that provide solutions for industries, such as SaaS, Healthtech, ConsumerTech, DeepTech, EdTech, FMCG and the sustainable sector.

The start-ups will receive mentorship from leading industry experts on business growth metrics, such as revenue building, customer acquisition, sustainability, market expansion and product development roadmap, access to funds, cross border market connects and access to government.

Close to 101 start-ups from across the country applied to participate in the program, which were evaluated by WE HUB, of them 90 per cent of the application had growth potential. The startups were given orientation on the program in detail and were further shortlisted through one-on-one interview sessions by leaders at WE HUB. The final list of start-ups for the cohort was selected based on the two-day pitching sessions to the jury of WE HUB partners including – Swissnex, IKP, Yashoda Hospitals, CCMB and SucSEED Partners.

Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB, said, “We are excited to launch our third Cohort which consists of 26 startups, from across India. Three years from its inception, WE Hub has reached a stage where every sector of startup incubated with us can be directed to a program which specifically tackles their need along with our partners. Programs like WE Trade, Launchpad, WE Corner launched by us in the previous year along with well-designed coincubation programs we are confident we have the best outcomes for the incubates at WE HUB.”

Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary ITE&C Department, Telangana, said, “Congratulations to all the startups selected as part of the third Cohort of the Incubation Program by WE HUB. Year on Year, it is heartening to see the varied sectors from which we are seeing Women Entrepreneurs innovate, startup and create enterprises. We look forward to many of these startups becoming a huge part of the innovation ecosystem to drive growth of startups in Telangana and across the country.”

This nine-month program is designed with a targeted approach to provide entrepreneurs with a need-based intervention model to help them scale up. Start-ups from various cities in India – Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad – are part of the cohort. Some of the selected startups are Moxie and hopper, Bluebot Robotics, Ikshana, Lauriko, Kula Studio, Abby, Mindful Grubs, Forward Parcel, Haemac, Shu Shu babies, Sortizy, Yugiene, Pillplus, Level App, Backbenchers, Lori health, Kaqzu Bottles, Artfils, Hunar, Mera Bills, People of Prints, Akna Innovations, FittR Bites, Innogle, among others.

The selected start-ups will receive access to industrial visits and international market access support through WE HUB’s partnerships with various corporates and international organizations. Additionally, they will receive one-on-one interactions and need-based mentorship sessions, respectively. Based on factors like market competition, scale-up strategy, and product development plan, WE HUB will set goals for each start-up in the cohort and track the progress of the start-ups in addition to mentoring them.

The program had a successful previous cohort, with 24 start-ups graduated in July 2021. Most of the startups from the second cohort grew their revenue by 25 per cent, while WE HUB supported five start-ups to pivot their business model after the pandemic struck.

Shireen Sultana, Cofounder, KinderPass, a startup from the current (third) cohort said, “We are excited about working with WE HUB and looking forward to making KinderPass India’s best digital child health and development platform. Over the last few days, the conversations we’ve had with the team at WE HUB have given us the confidence that they are not just collaborators but will be true partners in our endeavor to help parents across India.”

Mouna Gummadi, Cofounder, Hilo Design a startup that was part of the previous (second) cohort said, “Hilo Design is proud to be incubated at WE HUB. The program really helped us to take us to the next stage as a startup with not just the guidance but also providing the right opportunities and marketing connects assisting in growth.”