Women leading startup bandwagon in Uttar Pradesh

Underlining equity in the business ecosystem, women-led startups have jumped 30 percent to nearly 9,600 in Uttar Pradesh.

From roughly 6,812 startups promoted by women a year back, the number of similar startups has now breached the 9,600 mark, indicating their march towards entrepreneurship.

At present, Uttar Pradesh is home to 19,000 startups recognised by the Central Government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Thus, women-led startups today account for more than 50 percent of UP's current startup tally.

The Yogi Adityanath government has already constituted a Rs 1,000 crore 'UP Startup Fund' to convert ideas into business ventures by providing financial support at both the early and expansion stages.

So far, Rs 325 crore has been approved from this Fund for assistance to startups, which has fortified the state's startup ecosystem.

Meanwhile, the state's 'Start in UP' scheme is also emerging as a strong foundation for new entrepreneurs. Under this roadmap, more than 3,000 startups have been recognised.

Of these, over 900 startups are run by women leaders, thus marking a significant step toward women entrepreneurship.

Moreover, 2,100 startups have received incubation support, providing them with technical guidance, mentorship, and business support.

Since, new startups need capital and market access in the early stages, the Yogi government is offering seed capital and marketing assistance, benefitting 376 ventures with a financial support to the tune of Rs 26.43 crore.

Similarly, the state has benefitted 74 applicants with approval of Rs 3.55 crore for prototype development, which is a crucial stage in turning an idea into a successful business.

Currently, 76 recognised incubators are functioning in UP, providing technical, managerial, and strategic support to startups.

These incubators have received assistance of Rs 14.80 crore to foster the state's image as an amenable startup hub.

To handhold startups, UP has also implemented livelihood allowance and incentive schemes.

Under these, 115 livelihood allowance applications have been approved and sanctioned Rs 2.46 crore, which has reduced the initial risk for startups.

Noida, Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Kanpur are among the top cities in terms of the registered startups.

Some of the leading startups and unicorns incorporated in UP include Pine Labs, Spice Money, Paytm Payments Bank, Advisorymandi, OneCode, Wishfin, GramCover, Marquee Equity, Buddy4Study etc, IndiaMart, Info Edge, PhysicsWallah etc.