MuKotak Mahindra Bank has announced the next edition of the Women Startup Program (WSP), implemented by NSRCEL and powered by KotakBizLabs, as part of its efforts to strengthen India’s women-led entrepreneurial ecosystem. The programme, a CSR initiative of the bank, aims to provide long-cycle support to women founders from ideation to scale-up, with a special focus on Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The Women Startup Program has so far supported more than 600 aspiring and established women entrepreneurs through mentorship, ecosystem access and business networking opportunities. The initiative comes at a time when India’s recognised startup base has crossed 223,000 ventures, while women founders continue to face challenges including limited access to credit, mentorship and growth opportunities.
According to Kotak Mahindra Bank, the programme is structured across four phases—Foundation, Pre-incubation, Incubation and Scale-up—to address the evolving needs of women entrepreneurs. Current cohorts include startups working in regenerative agriculture, community-led education, waste upcycling and applied technology. The 2025 cohort supported 30 startups with funding of ₹3 crore. HimanshuNivsarkar, Head of CSR and ESG at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said building strong peer networks and long-term support systems is critical for ensuring women entrepreneurs remain in the business ecosystem. RasikaPrashant, CEO of NSRCEL, said the partnership aims to bridge ecosystem gaps and help founders transform ambition into sustainable and scalable ventures.
In Kolkata, the initiative is expected to benefit the city’s growing startup ecosystem, which has witnessed increasing participation from women-led enterprises across education, technology, sustainability and creative industries. Industry experts believe enhanced access to mentorship, funding opportunities and market linkages could encourage more women entrepreneurs from Kolkata and eastern India to build scalable businesses and contribute to regional economic growth.