In an effort to encourage women founders, Sequoia India has announced a fellowship for women entrepreneurs. The venture capital company will provide a $100,000 fellowship to 15 women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia each year who are in the pre-launch or pre-product market fit stages of their businesses. In November 2021, the inaugural Spark Fellowship will be introduced. Applicants can fill their forms by September 15.
In an effort to encourage women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia, Sequoia India, one of the largest investors in Indian start-ups, has established Sequoia Spark, an entrepreneurship programme for women.
The beneficiaries will also get one-on-one mentoring from a senior Sequoia India investment adviser for a period of 12 months, according to the business. Sequoia India portfolio professionals will provide hands-on help to the beneficiaries in the areas of hiring and legal, finance, product, technology, and marketing.
“The $100,000 grant has no strings, no equity nor any convertible note for Sequoia,” the firm said in a statement.
“Gender diversity is good for any society and every economy. Different perspectives, experiences and points of view help drive innovation,” stated Sequoia India.
It further added that “Our Sequoia Spark initiative for female founders in India and Southeast Asia is one such effort to spark a change. By encouraging more women to start companies, we hope to increase the top of the funnel for all venture firms, including ours.”
Spark Talks, a monthly webinar series, spark studios, a curated small-group session with Sequoia India professionals, and spark coffee chats, a discussion on business problems, are among the new programmes.
Divya Gokulnath, BYJU’s co-founder, Lalit Keshre, Groww’s co-founder and CEO and Kunal Shah, CRED’s founder, are among the mentors who will assist the women.