WE Invest NIDHI Accelerator Program

A 4-month Acceleration Program in collaboration with Venture Catalyst and FundEnable provides intensive mentoring culminating in a Demo Day

The WE Invest NIDHI Accelerator Program supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, aims to help women-led startups already being incubated, to be guided in a rigorous and more structured manner, through a deep mentoring process, capacity building,  and access to funding. NIDHI accelerator is positioned for accelerating startups that have made significant progress in terms of market validation and are at the growth and scale-up stage.

The program is dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs by accelerating the growth of 15 high-potential women-led startups. Tailored for women founders with MVPs or early revenue, it aims to support them in achieving product-market fit and securing funding.

Award
5 Startups will stand a chance to win a Grant of Rs. 2.00 Lakhs each. 

 

Eligibility Criteria

    1. DPIIT Registered startup
    2. MVP ready and revenue generating women-led startups
    3. Startups in which women or a group of women hold a minimum 51% shareholding. Women founders should have decision making rights. However, startups can have male co-founders. 
    4. A citizen/resident of India and must be at least 18 years of age (as of 1st April 2023)
    5. Must not have been a part of NIDHI Accelerator Program at any other center / in any year prior to applying.

     

    Program Fee: INR 25,000/-

     

WE Invest NIDHI Accelerator Program

TakeAways

  1. Intensive one-on-one mentoring from Industry & Academia experts.
  2.  Access to investors / angels /VC’s. 
  3. Access to Co-working space.
  4.  Access to 150 + R & D Labs & Faculty pool at Banasthali Vidyapith.
  5. Support in developing an impactful investor pitch deck.
  6. Practice sessions for pitching through mock pitch sessions.
  7. Culmination of the program with a Physical Demo Day event.
  8. Award to the selected  startups upto INR 10 Lakhs.
  9. Master sessions cover Business Modelling, Go-To-Market Strategy, Digital Marketing, Sales Playbook, UI-UX, Financial Modeling, Term Sheet Negotiation, Startup Valuation, Deal Structuring, Due-Diligence, Exit Strategies, and Investor Outreach, ending with Mock Pitching and Pitch Day for real-world readiness.

Timeline

When Activity
Nov 27, 2024 Call for Application
Dec 15, 2024 Application Close Date
Dec 31, 2024 3 Rounds of Shortlisting
January to April, 2025 Accelerator Phase (1 Physical Session, Virtual sessions, Diagnostic Panels, Mentoring, Mock Demo Day)
April, 2025 Physical Demo Day & Award to Startups