Prosus, a global tech company and technology investor, has launched the Tech FoundHER Challenge in India. The initiative aims to bridge the funding gap in the Indian tech ecosystem by providing a launchpad for women-led startups to scale, secure funding, and access global networks. The challenge is launched in partnership with Encubay, a global network focused on bridging equity in entrepreneurship and investing, and VAIA Climate, an investment advisory firm.
Prosus has invested nearly $9 billion in India, backing successful startups like Swiggy, Meesho, Captain Fresh, and PharmEasy across sectors like fintech, food delivery, and e-commerce. Market research highlights that women remain underrepresented in tech, innovation, and funding. Women-led startups receive less than 5% of global venture capital funding, underscoring a critical gap.
The FoundHER Challenge aims to address this by offering catalytic capital and opportunities to female-led startups in the Indian tech landscape. Women-led tech startups can apply before April 4, 2025, and 30 shortlisted founders will be selected based on innovation, scalability, and impact by an esteemed jury. The top six founders will pitch in an in-person session on May 25, 2025, in Bangalore, and three winners will receive up to $50,000 in equity-free funding.
The finalists will present their startups to an esteemed panel of investors and industry leaders, including Avaana Capital’s founding partner Anjali Bansal, Archana Jahagirdar, Ronak Sandil, Apurva Dixit, CEO Martin Tschopp, and Priyanka Chopra.
India’s tech funding for women entrepreneurs
Deeksha Ahuja, Founder of Encubay, said, “Encubay was built to bridge the equity gap for women entrepreneurs.
This challenge aligns perfectly with our mission of empowering female founders with capital, networks, and mentorship.”
Prajna Khanna, Global Head of Sustainability at Prosus, said, “Women in tech don’t need more barriers—they need opportunities. The FoundHER Challenge is about taking action, backing women-led startups to scale, innovate, and lead.”
Encubay is a global business network with over 10,000 stakeholders, including founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem partners. It addresses key challenges faced by early-stage founders and focuses on building knowledge networks, facilitating access to capital, and creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
At an event on Friday, the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), an apex body of businesswomen in India, emphasized the need to enhance support for women entrepreneurs to stimulate the nation’s economy. The government has introduced schemes and initiatives to promote women’s employment, but the Economic Survey 2024-25 revealed significant gaps in women’s employment and entrepreneurship, with only 22 percent of India’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) being women-owned. Joyshree Das Verma, President of FLO, said, “This is not just a statistic; it is a call to action.
A call for us to step up, support, and strengthen because their success is the success of our economy. Women-led MSMEs are catalysts for innovation, employment, and economic resilience. The more we support them, the stronger our nation becomes.”
FLO’s platform focuses on skill development, policy advocacy, economic participation, and leadership mentoring, empowering women to confidently move forward.
The organization received 104 applications for the MSME awards this year, reflecting the remarkable talent, perseverance, and ambition within the FLO network.
Photo by; Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash