Women Entrepreneurship Programs in India by STEP

STEP empowers women entrepreneurs through climate-tech incubation, rural business training, a reality series, and seed funding. Explore our impact across India.

Building India’s Infrastructure for Women-Led Enterprises

India is home to over 72 lakh women-owned MSMEs in rural areas alone—yet women entrepreneurs remain among the most underserved participants in the country's startup and innovation ecosystems. Limited access to capital, a lack of mentorship networks, low digital inclusion, and near-zero visibility on national platforms have kept millions of capable women locked out of formal economic opportunities.

STEP (CGLS Foundation) is dismantling these barriers with four targeted, complementary programs that together form a national infrastructure for women-led enterprise. From climate-tech incubation to grassroots business training, from India’s first rural women’s reality series to government-backed seed funding, STEP’s approach is holistic, evidence-driven, and built around one conviction: women entrepreneurs need to be resourced.

The Scale of the Opportunity

India's Self-Help Group network spans nearly one crore groups. Experts project that targeted support for women entrepreneurs could create 30 million women-owned enterprises by 2030,  generating employment for up to 150 million people. At the same time, climate challenges at the community level are demanding entrepreneurial responses that create both environmental and economic value.

Our Programs: A Complete Ecosystem for Women Entrepreneurs

STEP’s four flagship initiatives form an interconnected growth pipeline—from the first rupee of revenue tracked in a village diary to a climate-tech startup pitching to national investors.

• UnPollute: India’s Largest Platform for Women in Climate Action

Focus: Climate entrepreneurship, green economy, environmental innovation

Launched: 2024

Women founders working on air, water, and soil challenges are significantly underrepresented in India's climate innovation ecosystem. They face compounding barriers—limited early-stage capital, lack of needs-based mentorship, and low visibility within startup networks. UnPollute was created to address exactly this gap.

As India's largest platform for women entrepreneurs in climate action, UnPollute supports innovators developing solutions in:

• Waste management and circular economy models

• Climate-smart agriculture

• Pollution-reduction technologies

• Sustainable materials

• AI-enabled environmental monitoring systems

Through a blend of incubation, mentoring, pitching opportunities, innovation showcases, and ecosystem engagement, UnPollute equips women founders to transform environmental challenges into scalable, investable enterprises.

Explore the UnPollute program → https://www.unpolluteindia.com/

UnPollute Impact at a Glance

 

• Safal Karobar Program (SKP): Making Rural Women Entrepreneurship Aspirational

Focus: Micro and nano enterprise development, financial literacy, digital marketing

Launched: 2025

SKP is anchored in a simple but powerful belief: women at the grassroots are already competent. They need apt entrepreneurial skills, recognition, and access to resources. Most skilling initiatives in India prioritise short-term income generation. SKP targets the shift from earning to ownership, building a robust ecosystem of financially independent women entrepreneurs across rural India and tier-3 cities—treating women as economic actors and enterprise owners.

Current districts of operation in Uttar Pradesh: Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Lakhimpur Kheri, Mirzapur, and Kanpur.

SKP Workshop Curriculum

• Leadership Skills

• Daily Financial Bookkeeping

• Business Planning

• Digital Marketing

SKP Impact after one year

• Women trained: 500+

• Structured training hours delivered: 350+

• Participants tracking daily financial transactions systematically: 95%

• Participants applying SMART goals to business plans: 90%

• Smartphone users onboarded to Facebook/WhatsApp for business: 100%

• Average revenue growth reported post-training: 43%

• Total revenue reported by participants: ₹60.8 lakh

• Livelihoods supported: 612

• Additional people employed by trained women entrepreneurs: 274

Bring SKP to your district → https://thestepworld.com/safal-karobar-program/

•  Dhanotsav: India’s First Pitch Reality Series for Rural Women Entrepreneurs

Focus: National visibility, digital inclusion, market access, financial inclusion, pitch readiness

Launched: 2025

Dhanotsav is India's first pitch-based, digital-first entrepreneurship platform designed specifically for rural women entrepreneurs. It goes far beyond training—creating aspiration, national visibility, and economic resilience for women who have long operated outside the reach of formal markets, banks, and corporates.

The Dhanotsav Journey: Six Stages

• Applications and Selection — A nationwide call for applications, with entry via partner organisation nominations and structured screening

• Training — An immersive program covering business fundamentals, leadership, financial management, and digital tools

• Continued Online Mentorship — Hand-held post-training support, with guided mentoring to develop business pitches and soft skills

• Pitch Preparation — Selected finalists enter the Dhanotsav House for peer learning, pitch practice, and exposure to industry experts

• Shoot and Post-Production — Professionally produced episodes featuring pitches to industry leaders, investors, and role models

• Digital Amplification — Stories shared across digital and traditional media, with on-ground watch parties and community-led engagement

Season 1, shot with nine entrepreneurs from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, is now live on YouTube.

Watch Dhanotsav Season 1 on YouTube → Click here

Organizations can partner as CSR sponsors, ecosystem partners, or market enablers to support women entrepreneurs. If you are passionate about rural women's entrepreneurship you can join as a mentor, funder, media partners, you can join the movement.

•  Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): Funding and Mentorship for Women-Led Startups

Focus: Early-stage funding, DPIIT-recognised startups, gender-responsive incubation

As a proud partner of the Government of India's Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), STEP provides grants, debt funding, and expert mentorship to early-stage startups—with a deliberate priority on women and non-binary founders.

What makes STEP's SISFS implementation distinct is its gender-responsive support system. Most incubation models are built around a male-default founder archetype. STEP's framework is designed from the ground up around the specific barriers, networks, and growth trajectories of women and non-binary entrepreneurs.

What STEP Provides Through SISFS

• Funding support — Grants and debt for both idea-stage and growth-stage startups

• Expert mentorship — Guidance from experienced founders and domain specialists

• Business enablement — Planning, compliance, and investor readiness support

• National visibility — Access to events, showcases, and ecosystem networks

Who Can Apply

• Identifies as a woman or non-binary entrepreneur

• Holds a key leadership or decision-making role in the venture

• Registered as a Private Limited Company, LLP, or One Person Company (OPC)

• Holds a valid DPIIT Startup Recognition

• Incorporated within the last two years

• Apply for SISFS funding now → Click here

Know More about the program: https://thestepworld.com/startup-india-seed-fund-scheme/

Building a Pipeline: From Grassroots to Growth-Stage

STEP's four programs are not isolated interventions—they form an interconnected growth ladder for women entrepreneurs across India.

A woman micro-entrepreneur trained in financial bookkeeping through the Safal Karobar Program can gain national visibility on Dhanotsav, access formal markets for the first time, and be discovered by investors. A climate innovator tackling air pollution can secure government-backed seed funding through our SISFS partnership and scale her solution on the UnPollute platform. This is the STEP ecosystem in action.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is STEP?

STEP is a gender inclusive incubator dedicated to advancing women’s entrepreneurship across India.

Q: Which states does STEP operate in?

STEP operates Pan India. You can contact us for partnership opportunities in your state.

Q: How can women entrepreneurs apply for STEP programs?

Visit our website www.thestepworld.com to understand the application process.

Q: How can organisations partner with STEP?

We welcome partnerships with NGOs, CSR foundations, government bodies, and investors. Reach out at contact@thestepworld.com to explore collaborations.