Prosus Launches Tech FoundHER Challenge to Support Women Entrepreneurs

By: WE staff | Tuesday, 1 April 2025

• The Tech FoundHER Challenge was initiated by Prosus to support women entrepreneurs 
• The initiative also works with Encubay-a global networking group aiding in fostering equity in entrepreneurship
• Aims to bridge the funding gap in the Indian tech ecosystem

Prosus, a global technology investor & operator has launched the Tech FoundHER Challenge in association with Encubay, the international network for equality in entrepreneurship and financial investments, and VAIA Climate, which is an investment advisory firm.

A statement by Prosus said the new initiative is intended to play a part towards closing the funding gap in the Indian tech ecosystem by providing women-led disruptions a stage to be scaled, funded, and connected to global networks.

As an organization, Encubay aims to fill the equity gap for women entrepreneurs, being a collaborator in the various initiatives, including the Prosus Tech FoundHER Challenge, toward the vision of empowering female founders by bringing them capital, networks, and mentorship. 

The proposed tech giant and one of the biggest tech investors globally, Prosus has invested almost US$9 billion in India. In its investment journey on successful ventures such as Swiggy, Meesho, Captain Fresh, and PharmEasy, Prosus has diversified into sectors like fintech, food delivery, e-commerce, etc. The FoundHER Challenge thus seems to embody its very soul- to inspire innovation and socially conscious businesses. 

While that has been the mandate, research indicates that much through tech, innovation, and funding, women remain significantly underrepresented the world of venture capital funding, women-led startups get less than 5 percent at the global level, and the FoundHER Challenge is at the forefront of changing this through catalytic capital and building opportunities for female-led startups in technology in India.

Women-centric technology startups from India can submit applications until April 4. A panel of eminent judges will shortlist 30 founding teams based on creativity, scalability, and impact. The final six finalists will pitch live on May 25, in Bangalore, where three winners will be awarded up to $50,000 in equity-free funding.

Finalists pitch 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, Prosus Ventures CEO Martin Tschopp, and Priyanka Chopra.

Encubay is a global business network uniting over 10,000 stakeholders to empower early-stage founders through their challenging entrepreneurial journeys in areas of knowledge transfer, access to capital, and opportunity development for women entrepreneurs. Encubay's facilitation has smoothed sailing for more than 7,500 founders whose sustainability, innovation, and impact were furthered even more with various partnerships including with companies like HSBC, Google, AWS, and many more.