Telangana incubator WE Hub partners with Switzerland university to take women-led startups global

WE Hub, a Telangana state-promoted incubator that fosters women entrepreneurs, has partnered with Switzerland’s University of Basel to set up exchange and immersion programmes for women-led startups in the two countries.

The programmes will focus on startups in the healthcare, pharma, life sciences and technology segments, and enable women entrepreneurs gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of the ecosystems and industry landscapes, which will help them scale up and sustain through global market-access, WE Hub said in a statement. They will also enable entrepreneurs working in similar fields cross collaborate and cross learn across industry borders, it said.  

“With Telangana and Basel having many similarities and parallels in focus sectors and the number of women researchers and women-led startups in these sectors, it is an exciting and fruitful collaboration. We are also co-founders of the FEMtrepreneurs, (which helps) more young women-led startups get access to mentoring, technology support and a platform to grow and sustain,” Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE Hub, said.

The University of Basel, founded in 1460, is a research-intensive university that offers degree programmes at the bachelors, masters and doctoral levels.

Earlier this month, WE Hub opened applications for its second cohort. Shortlisted startups will receive access to industrial visits and international market support through the incubator’s partnerships with various corporates and organisations. It has also partnered with Startup India, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), to launch a flagship programme for women entrepreneurs, under which it plans to support 7,500 women in the country every year.