200 women entrepreneurs are expected to raise about 850 crore rupees from investors
November 2024 — Goldman Sachs announced today that 200 women entrepreneurs from its 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative, which seeks to support women entrepreneurs with access to capital, are poised to raise an estimated 850 crore rupees (US$100 million) from investors, helping to expand businesses and create new jobs.
Speaking at an event today at the firm’s Bengaluru office to mark the completion of 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative, the chief guest of the event, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Cabinet Minister and Minister for Commerce and Industry, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative highlights the untapped potential in women. I am confident that they will continue to break barriers and empower others. They are committed to investing in and supporting the progress of women. Currently, 3,500 women from this initiative have created job opportunities and are driving economic activities. The program also demonstrates how these women contribute significantly to the Government’s journey of Amrit Kaal as we work towards achieving India’s Viksit Bharat goal by 2047.”
Asahi Pompey, global head of Goldman Sachs’ Office of Corporate Engagement, said: “Empowering women entrepreneurs with the right skills, meaningful mentorship and strategic networks to access the right kind of capital at the right time is not just transformative for their business – it is a powerful catalyst for sustainable job creation, wealth generation and economic growth.”
Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs in India, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative equips women entrepreneurs with a deeper understanding of how they can access external finance for growth. It is a testament to our commitment to support women-led businesses by bridging the credit gap through our network of investors in India.”
Gunjan Samtani, global chief operating officer of Engineering at Goldman Sachs and country head of Goldman Sachs Services India, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women has a proven record of enabling women entrepreneurs to drive economic growth in India, and has built an ecosystem to support them and address business challenges together.”
Other notable external attendees at the event were the two-time Oscar winner Guneet Monga, celebrated journalist Faye D’Souza, and leaders from the industry and academia.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth was developed and launched in 2023 in partnership with NSRCEL, the incubation arm of IIM Bangalore. More than 400 graduates of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women participated in this initiative designed to equip women entrepreneurs with an enhanced understanding of business finance, provide mentoring and networking opportunities, and connecting them with investors. The initiative draws on findings from a study of 10,000 Women graduates across India titled Breaking Barriers: Unlocking the Potential of Women Entrepreneurs, which showed program participants doubled their workforce, quadrupled their revenue, and increased productivity by five-folds, within 18 months of program completion, and see capital access and awareness on available financing avenues domestically and internationally as their biggest growth barrier.
About Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world. In India, Goldman Sachs operates from offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women in India
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is an ongoing initiative to foster economic growth by providing women entrepreneurs around the world with a business and management education, mentoring and networking, and access to capital. The creation of 10,000 Women was informed by Goldman Sachs research showing that investing in education for women could close a range of gender gaps. Goldman Sachs research also shows that closing the credit gap for women-owned SMEs in emerging markets could push annual incomes by an average of 12 per cent higher by 2030. In India, the three-month-long in-person classroom program has been delivered in partnerships with two institutions – the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. In 2018, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women was made available online worldwide through Coursera, further democratizing access to a business education in more corners of the world. The program curriculum is available in both English and Hindi languages. Since the launch in 2008, the program has reached more than 200,000 women entrepreneurs in over 150 countries and invested more than US$2.8 billion to date. In India, the business and management education program has enabled more than 3,500 women entrepreneurs across India.
About NSRCEL:
With programs specifically catering to entrepreneurs with profit ventures and social ventures, also student and women entrepreneurs, NSRCEL offers its support to various players of the startup ecosystem.
NSRCEL brings together startups, industry mentors, and eminent academicians from its parent institution Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru and researchers who thrive on continuous interaction of theory and practice. For details, visit www.nsrcel.org
