Women Entrepreneurship Program

I.

Introduction and rationale

Starting a business and making it work is a series of strategic actions put
together with persistent hard work and integral alignment with changing
market scenarios. While an idea on its own may be brilliant for an
individual, a small group or a community; its growth and sustainability
depends on its leadership, team, scalability, and consistent feasibility.
For entrepreneurs, every decision on a day to day basis decides the fate of
their business. A lot of it can be learned theoretically and through reading
materials, but considering that every business owner is at a different stage
and is dealing with customized set of issues, it is extremely crucial that a
practical approach towards entrepreneurship is taken to impart useful skills
and knowledge.
Till the recent times the world of business belonged to men alone and very
few women chose to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. With this trend
changing, more women entering the entrepreneurial world, limited
mentors and role models for access, a structured program on
entrepreneurship and running a business is needed. This program will
focus on women entrepreneurs (existing or planning to start a venture) to
provide access to practical knowledge, relevant skills for every stage, and
access to resources that will be crucial for ensuring the success of their
venture.

II.

Objective of the program

The course aims to impart practical entrepreneurial skills and knowledge
essential for a woman entrepreneur to understand the nuances of running a
business setup smoothly. The focus of the course curriculum will be on
both- the business functioning and also the grooming and development of
the promoter to engage with the business community and its stakeholders.

III.

Target group profile

This program will focus mainly on women entrepreneurs from middle and
lower middle class background with an existing venture, or planning to
start their venture. Majority of the women entrepreneurs will be dealing at
businesses at very low scale.
Since this program will not focus on ideation and idea validation process,
existing women business owners taking care of their family business or
planning to overtake their family business are also advised to take this
course.

IV.

Program details
a. Duration
This program will run for a duration of four months over weekend
(Saturday and Sunday) as an 8-hour week class schedule.
b. Teaching methodology
Classroom sessions, immersion activities, simulation activities, case
studies, take home assignments.

V.

Course elements

Module 1: Orientation (Session 1-2) 8 hours

Lead speaker story
Overall business experience
Identify the culture and values of the business why its important
Module 2: Opportunity Assessment (Session 3- 4) 8 hours
Focus on the ability to be creative and innovative in the identification of new
opportunities for business growth
Planning of the Business
Timing for the Business
Skill Sets Assessment
Benchmarking based on kind of work and capability
Module 3: Product & Innovation (Session 5-6) 8 hours
Product - Occasion Specific for products
Service Diversification and Offerings
Module 4: Marketing, BD & Sales (Session 7-10) 16 hours
4Ps - Price, Product, Promotion, and Place
Marketing Size
Market Identification
Diversification
Parallel References
Collaboration with Complimentary Businesses
Module 5: Customer engagement (Session 11-12) 8 hours
Customer Engagement
Communication
Customer Relations
Retention
Referrals

Module 6: Accounting & Finance (Session 13-16) 16 hours

Business Money vs Personal Money
Profit Mechanism
1. Fixed Cost
2. Profit
3. Break Even Factor
Work on financial statements for existing and future growth
Understand the importance and relevance of financial statements to set
goals, benchmark progress, and grow the bottom line.
Introduction to basic financial ratios to monitor business and growth
Module 7: Technology Adoption (Session 17-19) 12 hours
Helping them understand the use of technology for
Mobile and Mobile Applications
Marketing and Sales
Customer Management

Module 8: Funding and Valuation (Session20-23) 16 hours

Advance the use of forecasting spreadsheets.
Provide an overview of the different types of financing available, how to
assess opportunities and prepare for accessing capital.
Completion of a loan application and advance knowledge of bank lending
process.
Growth Projections and pitch
Participants pitch their growth plans and financing needs. Includes
exercises on networking and business advising to help build and use
entrepreneurial networks.
Last Session (Session 24) 4 hours
Session on Business Ethics
Feedback