TiE Melbourne Launches Women Entrepreneurs' Growth Program

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Thursday, 28 May 2026

The TiE Women Entrepreneurs (TWE) program aims to strengthen support systems for women entrepreneurs by addressing key challenges such as visibility, access to funding, and limited professional networks.

The initiative provides a structured platform to help women founders connect with mentors, investors, and industry networks, enabling them to scale their ventures and gain greater recognition within the startup ecosystem.

It also provides a platform for the participants to present their business ideas on an international level, with the local winners then moving on to a global final where they will compete for a $50,000 equity-free prize.

This past week, the 2026 program was championed in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with the support of the Australia-India Business Council, highlighting the increasing national interest in women-led entrepreneurship and startup innovation.

Namita Gupta, Vice President at TiE Melbourne, who is now part of the program with Sangeeta Mulchandani, has the experience to know what a difference the program can make. Three years ago, she herself won the Australian chapter before going on to compete at the global level in Bengaluru, India.

“That really opened my eyes to the scale and magnitude of TiE, and the type of people that are part of TiE,” she recalls. “It was a great experience… we met some very interesting people, and through that connection became more deeply involved with TiE Melbourne.”

Namita is a dentist, a medtech entrepreneur, and the co-founder of Dental Sanctuary (along with her husband, another dentist Dr Stephan Kantharajah) and later the dental procurement AI platform, Restocq.

Now, the TWE is one of the flagship initiatives of the organisation, with 63 chapters worldwide. They are mentored and programmed at a local level and one winner from each chapter moves on to the international finals.

Key Highlights:

• TWE supports women entrepreneurs with mentorship, funding access, and global exposure
• The 2026 program was promoted across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane
• Namita Gupta said the initiative helps women-led startups gain visibility and growth opportunities

There is a deeper meaning behind the mentoring and the international exposure: aiding

female founders in climbing the high barrier of access that still exists for female-led startups.

“The statistics are pretty appalling when it comes to institutional backing of female-founded startups,” Namita says. “The program was started to give female founders more exposure in circles where there is access to seed funding or institutional funding.”

There's also mentorship and people who can work with them and help extend some of these projects to other borders, she says. As it's international, and has chapters across the globe, especially in the US and India, it's a great chance for Australian startups to go to those countries, TiE said.

“There’s also mentorship and access to people who can collaborate and help scale some of these ventures across borders,” she explains. “Because TiE is an international organisation with chapters all over the world, particularly in the US and India, it’s a huge opportunity for Australian startups looking to expand into those regions.”

“Women founders have been found to be highly investable and more likely to deliver returns,” she says. “But they’re also building products and companies that support the female population – whether that’s in health, children’s services, or other areas where women bring a different sensibility and understanding.”

The diversity of businesses entering the program has also grown significantly, spanning healthcare, medtech, deep tech, food, marketing, and broader technology sectors. Importantly, the initiative is open to women from all backgrounds, not only migrant or multicultural entrepreneurs. For younger women hesitating over whether to pursue a business idea, Namita’s advice is simple: back yourself.

“Have courage and take the leap,” she says. “If nothing else, you’ll learn a lot from the experience.” She also stresses the importance of community and mentorship.“Don’t expect to do it alone. Surround yourself with the support network you need. For me, it was TiE and the mentorship I received there.”

And finally, she feels, entrepreneurs must learn not to fear failure.

“With failure comes a lot of learning,” she reflects. “The difference between those that fail and those that succeed is grit and determination – the ability to stay in the game, ride the wave, and keep going even when things get hard.”