Women Startup Programme at Parul University: 37 Women-Founded Ventures, a Three-Day Bootcamp Exclusively for Female Students, Government Grants, SSIP and Startup India, and PIERC Connects Women Founders to Real Funding

Women Startup Meet 6.0 included a three-day startup bootcamp organised specifically for female students at the Founders Studio in the BBA Building. The programme was not a general entrepreneurship course open to all. It was designed with a specific intent: to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence required for women to start and scale their own ventures. Over 60 female students participated in a dedicated Startup Idea Pitching session in collaboration with PIERC, presenting their concepts and receiving real-world feedback from mentors and incubation managers.

The bootcamp sessions covered startup fundamentals, the 8-parameter idea evaluation scorecard, design thinking and MVP development, Business Model Canvas with Uber/Netflix/McDonald‘s examples, and live founder stories from Crunchy Wavez (built by a female B.Tech student). The opening message set the tone: Welcome to a world that embraces ideas. Mr. Hutesh Baviskar, PIERC’s Incubation Manager, led multiple sessions with a focus on encouraging female participants to evaluate their ideas critically and build confidence.

Twelve women founders spoke across multiple venues over three days. Each brought a different stage of the entrepreneurial journey, from ideation to scaling, from agri-biotech to mental health technology to Ayurvedic wellness. Two of the seven, Anjali Khichar and Priyanshi Rathod, are current Parul University students:

• Anjali Khichar walked into PIERC during her first 10 days at Parul University. She was assigned a mentor, received an SSIP 2.2 grant, and now runs three ventures.
• Priyanshi Rathod entered through the Smart India Hackathon organised by PIERC, received Rs 1.2 lakh for platform development, and is running paid pilots with three universities and two schools.
• Foram Vaghela received Rs 10 lakh from iHub Gujarat for her agri-biotech startup.

Both Anjali and Priyanshi emphasised the same insight: PIERC invests in founders, not just ideas. Ideas change. Strong founders succeed regardless.

• Mamaearth (Ghazal Alagh): joint family, identified unsafe baby products as a first-time mother, developed toxin-free solutions. Problem identification from personal experience. Market leader within five years.
• Sugar Cosmetics: bold branding, understanding modern consumers, strong digital presence against established beauty brands.
• Nykaa: transformed the Indian beauty market by combining e-commerce with brand trust.

Devanshi Bhatt, 3rd-year B.Tech Food Technology, co-founded Crunchy Wavez (sun-dried roasted chips, Indian flavours). Registered on International Women’s Day. PIERC incubated. Met IAS officers and Governor of Bihar. Finalist in Women Vadodara. The CEO of Gopal Snacks inaugurated launch. Employs women for sun-drying. Spoke at the Women Startup Meet bootcamp to inspire fellow female students with a real, operational example of what PIERC incubation can produce.

One of the closed-door sessions during the bootcamp covered government funding schemes for startups in detail: eligibility conditions, application processes, and how the whole process works from the student’s side. PIERC actively supports students in accessing:

• SSIP (Student Startup and Innovation Policy): Gujarat government programme for student innovation. Anjali Khichar received SSIP 2.2 grant in her first year.
• iHub Gujarat: up to Rs 10 lakh for startups. YEILD EARTH PRO PVT LTD received fund from iHub Srujan Seed Support.
• DPIIT Recognition: formal Startup India registration that unlocks tax benefits, easier compliance, and access to government tenders.
• Startup India Seed Fund Scheme: approximately Rs 592 crore approved since 2021. Rs 294 crore allocated to women-led ventures specifically.
• Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups: collateral-free loans for early-stage ventures.

PIERC does not charge students for incubation or funding support. The entire process, from idea submission to mentor assignment to grant application, is free and government-backed. The closed-door format allowed students to ask specific questions about eligibility and processing that they would have avoided in open sessions.

The second closed-door session covered the actual incubation onboarding process at PIERC: submitting the idea, being evaluated, getting assigned a mentor, and accessing resources and workspace. For many female students in the room, this was the most practically relevant session because it answered the one question that usually goes unasked: what do I actually do next? The answer is structured: idea submission through the PIERC portal, verbal pitch (Phase 1), formal presentation (Phase 2), 15-day pre-incubation with market research and mentor matching, then full incubation with workspace, mentorship, and government funding support.

The vision for a developed India in its centenary requires not just more startups but more diverse founders. PIERC’s model, which places women students on real startup paths during their degree, is a working example of what that pipeline looks like. Startups have created over 17.28 lakh direct jobs nationally. Over 51% now emerge from Tier II and Tier III cities. Gujarat is one of the most active states. Parul University, with PIERC as its incubation engine, aligns perfectly with national policy’s vision for universities: to produce founders, not just graduates. The 37 women-founded ventures, the SSIP grants received by first-year students, and the bootcamp designed exclusively for female students are the operational proof.