WE HUB, India’s first and only state-led incubator by the Government of Telangana to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start-up, scale-up and accelerate with global market access, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI). The MoU will have a pre-incubation program for 60 aspiring entrepreneurs from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) catering 30 from each state.

The MoU was inked between Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary (ITE &C) Government of Telangana who is also on the Board of WE HUB, and Shri M K Dwivedi, IAS, Commissioner Secretary (Industries and Commerce Department) Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The virtual launch was hosted in the presence of Shri G M Dar, KAS, Director, JKEDI, and Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB. 

Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary (ITE &C), Government of Telangana said, “It is a historic day where through WE Hub we are able to join hands with EDI of Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from the preincubation, incubation and startup exchange programs with the partnership will bring in the government of Jammu and Kashmir should look at the progressive state of Telangana and its innovation policy which facilitates the needs of the startups and access to scale. We should also make best benefit of the ecosystems in Telangana and the experts on the Board of WE HUB”

MK Dwivedi, IAS, Commissioner Secretary (Industries and Commerce Department) Government of Jammu and Kashmir said, “The youth of J&K have immense potential, talent and enthusiasm and historically it has always been the case. However, their potential has not been fully utilized for several reasons. With collaborations such as the one with WEHUB today, we are hopeful to gain the guidance and support of Progressive state like Telangana. The MoU with WE Hub, Government of Telangana is a milestone, and we are sure WE Hub will guide EDI of Government of Jammu and Kashmir to build an innovation and investment driven economy for J&K. We also invite entities from Telangana looking to expand to consider J&K. We are extremely about the partnership and are looking forward to the great work together”

Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB, said, “We are glad to collaborate with EDI of government of Jammu and Kashmir to promote entrepreneurship across both states. Through the partnership we want to progress aspiring entrepreneurs to move from idea to prototype, create market linkages to the startups of states and to make best benefit of the startup exchange programs. We are glad that WEHUB is becoming a knowledge partner for several states ”

Shri G M Dar, Director, JKEDI said, “With this collaboration, we expect a significant change for the start-ups as it will provide a platform to them to engage with their counterparts from Telangana. It will help provide a platform where idea exchange can occur, and through a collaborative effort, we will achieve success. I am sure with JKEDI and WE HUB collaborating, a new chain of ideas will come to the fore strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are starting a pre-incubation program that will focus on women founders and co-founders, with 30 start-ups from Jammu and Kashmir and 30 from Telangana. It would be a big boost to the start-up ecosystem for women.”  

This effort will help create a start-up exchange module between JKEDI and WE HUB comprising of 5 start-ups each from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir.  It will take their start-up ideas ahead, track their progress and link them with suitable mentors, help them taking beyond Proof of Concept (PoC) and enroll the best spin-offs as virtual/physical incubates at JKEDI. 

After the pre-incubation program and rigorous interventions, a total of 60 start-ups from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir will undergo a co-incubation program. This co-incubation brings in the start-ups the opportunity to scale up to viable enterprises and receive rapid growth mentorship from the leaders at JKEDI and WE HUB. The start-ups will also have Government supported exposure visits across Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir. 

WE HUB and JKEDI, as Government entities, can work towards creating policy exchange platforms and stakeholder engagement to enable discussions on the policy framework and conduct case studies to enable more gender inclusion and create an eco-system that enables more young women and girls to be part of the economic workforce.