STEP Incubation Program for Women-Led Startups

Shakti - The Empathy Project (STEP) is an incubation program for women-led early-stage startups creating social impact. The program creates funding and networking opportunities for startups. The selected Startup will become part of the larger STEP community and get support throughout the entrepreneurial journey. The current article briefs the procedure to apply for the STEP Incubation Program for Women-Led Startups. Know more about the DNA NXT Startup Alliance Program – Startup India

STEP Incubation Program

STEP stands for Shakti-The Empathy Project. It is an incubation program for early-stage women-led enterprises creating social impact. It is run under a nonprofit trust C3 Collaborate and Create Change with 12AA & 80G certificates.

Purpose of STEP Incubation Program

The purpose of Shakti - The Empathy Project (STEP) is to nurture female entrepreneurs.

• To improve the survival rate of women-run startups with social impact by providing support in skill-building, mentorship, networking, and fundraising.
• To build a safe and empathetic ecosystem to create a snowball effect that increases women’s participation in entrepreneurship and workforce
• The STEP Incubation Program aims to provide an enabling ecosystem for women social entrepreneurs in the early stages to sustain and scale their enterprises.
• To create opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs and helps them to maximize their potential as an entrepreneur and a leader to accelerate the growth of the enterprise and deliver high impact.

Benefits to Startups

STEP Incubation Program offers a 4-day Bootcamp to connect with the mentors, work on the product and understand some important aspects of the business from sector experts.

• STEP Incubation Program is a safe space to connect, collaborate and exchange ideas with other women social entrepreneurs in the cohort.
• Theory of Change is a specific type of methodology for planning, participation, and evaluation. The Startup selected for STEP will define the goals and then map backward to identify necessary preconditions to achieve the goal
• A team of mentors support the startup and build the capacities on Business Plan, Strategy, Leadership, Branding and other topics
• The STEP offers weekly workshops with experts on Vision & Strategy, Organisation Development & Structure, Competitive Analysis, and Hiring Strategies.
• After the completion of the STEP incubation program, the startup can Learn to narrate the story in a way that touches, moves, and inspires others.
• The incubation program will create a way to learn to evaluate and communicate the social impact of the organization.
• The startups will get an opportunity to meet sector experts, funders, and other like-minded individuals.
• Prepare the financial model for investors and learn how to pitch to funders.

Eligibility Criteria for STEP

The eligibility criteria for the STEP Incubation Program are as follows:

• As mentioned above, the STEP Incubation Program applies to women-led social startups.
• At least one of the co-founders of the startup should identify herself as a woman.
• The applicant should be a minimum of 18 years of age and there is no upper age limit.
• The startup should be incorporated in India or Nepal to apply for Step.
• Through her startup, the entrepreneur should be solving a social problem.

Eligible Startup for STEP

The following type of startups can apply for the incubation program:

• Ideation Stage Startup
• Validation Stage Startup
• Early Traction Startup
• Scaling Stage Startup

Note: Relevant Service type is social Enterprise

Focus Area

STEP is looking to collaborate & work with startups in any of the following areas

• Education
• Renewable Energy
• Healthcare & Life sciences
• Social Impact
• Waste Management
• Toys And Games

Incentives Offered

The selected startups of the STEP Incubation Program will be offered the following type of incentives:

Non-Fiscal Incentives

The non-fiscal incentives that the entrepreneurs will receive during the program are as follows:

• Empathetic Community - Creating a safe and supportive community for women social entrepreneurs is at the heart of the STEP incubation program. The strength of this community lies in the collaboration and support that each woman gives to the other woman within the community. This support is everlasting and doesn't end with the program.
• Workshops - Weekly workshops with experts on areas such as Vision & Strategy,   Organization Development & Structure, Competitive Analysis, Hiring   Strategies will be organized.
• Building Public Narratives - The startup can learn to narrate the story in a way that touches, moves, and inspires others.
• Impact measurement - The startup can learn to evaluate and communicate the social impact of the organization.
• Networking -The selected startups will be provided an opportunity to meet sector experts, funders, and other like-minded individuals.
• Mentorship - A team of mentors support the startup and build the capacities on Business plan, Strategy, Leadership, Branding, and other topics.
• Role Modeling - The selected startups can provide access to women role models and hold candid conversations with successful women entrepreneurs and other ecosystem players.
• Follow-on funding - The selected startups can prepare the financial model for investors and learn how to pitch to funders.
• Special Category Incentives - STEP's incubation program only accepts applications from those startups where at least one of the co-founder is a woman.

Duration of Step Program

The duration of the STEP Incubation Program will be 6 months.

TimeLine of STEP Incubation Program

Application Opens	June 1st, 2021
Deadline to Apply	July 10th, 2021
Application Result Date	1st August 2021

Documents Required

The applicant must submit Aadhar and Pan Cards of the organization to apply for the program.

Application Procedure

The Incubation Program Applications will be open from 1^st June to 10^th June 2021. The applicant is required to access the official webpage of Startup India.

• From the home page click on the Programs option and then select View all active programs.

• By clicking on the Incubator Programme from the new page, the list of active programs will be displayed. Click on the STEP Incubation Program, the link will redirect to a new page.

• Click on the apply now an option; the Startup India login page will be displayed. The existing users of Startup India can log in to the portal to apply for the program.

• New users need to register on the portal to get the user credential. By clicking on the register now option, the applicant can provide all mandatory details for registration.

After login to the portal, the link will redirect to the STEP official page, where the applicant can apply:

• Email, Name of the Applicant, and Role of the applicant to the enterprise
• Name of the enterprise and Correspondence Address
• Name and LinkedIn profile of the founder/ co-founder
• Age and educational qualification of the founder
• Marital status of the founder and Contact number of the applicant
• Details of incorporation of the enterprise
• Details of Employees

After providing the details, click on submit option. The application will be forwarded to the concerned authority. The selected startups can attend the weekly workshops with experts on areas such as Vision & Strategy, Organisation Development & Structure, Competitive Analysis, Hiring Strategies.