WER Week Wrap: Women's Stories Span Business, Welfare and Sports

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 30 October 2026

Women's participation is growing and new participation is spreading out in various sectors, communities and public institutions. On various fonts, from women leading the way in business to entrepreneurs developing local markets, startups generating investments and policymakers addressing long-standing challenges. The stories also highlight policy initiatives, start-up funding, business appointments, rural livelihood programs, healthcare access, women's safety and sporting achievements. This evolving context is further shaped by international processes towards gender inclusion and empowerment of women's voices. Covering these developments from India and around the world, the latest edition of WER highlights the people, programmes and ideas creating new pathways for women to lead, grow and make a lasting impact.

Women’s Empowerment Roundup: Strengthening Leadership, Safety, Economic Opportunities and Healthcare

Women's empowerment is spotlighting in India with programs dedicated to representation in leadership, public safety, legal systems, rural entrepreneurship and healthcare. These recent actions signal the governments, institutions and policymakers' attempts to create new opportunities, fill gaps and improve support in various sectors for women.

Deviya Rane, BJP MLAs, said that women's role be encouraged, offered more opportunities and institutional support to make them more active in public life. She also welcomed Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar's appointment as the BJP Goa prabhari and reminded the importance of women's representation in leadership and decision making positions.

At the same time, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that the city will be covered with one lakh smart streetlights and 50,000 CCTV cameras, which will bolster women's safety in the capital. She also spoke to students at Daulat Ram College, highlighting the importance of self-defence training, skill-based education, and safe public spaces. The Supreme Court also instructed states and UTs to provide budget provision for a separate bar room, washroom and all basic facilities for women advocates in the district and taluk courts even if there are women advocates in the court.

Economic empowerment was also a strong demand with the Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh requesting for better banking facilitation of women-led self help groups. At the 18th Saras Aajeevika Mela, he shared the state's plan to scale up the number of Lakhpati Didis from 26,000 to one lakh by 2029. The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation made a suggestion to expand the ASUSE 2027-28 surveys at the national level to include challenges that women entrepreneurs face, electricity consumption, and investment in fixed assets. In addition, U T Khader, Minister of Health, government of Karnataka, announced that a new healthcare policy for women will be created by amalgamating various welfare policies and also improve the emergency medical services and health care services in taluk hospitals, he said.

Empowerment is a constant process that demands equal opportunities, economic autonomy, security and access for women to key services. Effective policies need to be effectively implemented at the grassroots, where women can participate, lead and contribute to society in a dignified and independent manner.

Expanding Market Access, Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Women

Creating sustainable livelihood opportunities requires more than financial assistance; it also calls for market access, business guidance and skill development. Across India, initiatives in Madurai, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are strengthening women's economic participation, while young changemakers are extending entrepreneurship support to underserved communities.

In Madurai, Shakthi Sandhai organised 125 stalls of grassroots women entrepreneurs where they were able to exhibit and sell their food products, organic products, cosmetics and handicrafts. The exhibition was also used to link women to entrepreneurship training, financial counselling and government support schemes and was organised by Green Fem Producer Company and VAPS with partner organisations. Similarly, Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh plans to allocate stalls to women-led self-help groups at fairs and major events, helping rural entrepreneurs market locally made food products and handicrafts directly to consumers.

In Uttar Pradesh, more than 1.066 million self-help groups involving 12.5 million women are supporting livelihoods through banking, electricity bill collection, dairy farming and renewable energy initiatives. Extending this focus to entrepreneurship education, Class 12 student Yukti Dahiya founded Project Pathways and RISE, which have collectively expanded access to career guidance and business support. RISE has empowered over 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and nurtured over 75 women-led businesses. Together these programs show the promise of market opportunities, financial inclusion, mentorship and understanding entrepreneurship to improve the economic independence of women and build sustainable livelihood networks.

Funding Momentum Across AI, Consumer Brands and Emerging Startups

Investor interest in India's emerging enterprises was robust, with startups raising new funds to bolster their technology, market expansion and product innovation in artificial intelligence, food, lifestyle and personal care. IvyCap Ventures led a pre-Series B funding round for Bengaluru-based Live2.ai raising Rs 130 crore to further develop and strengthen its AI capabilities while expanding its operations across the globe. Snack brand Troovy raised Rs 100 crore in a Series B round led by Fireside Ventures, and its founders are set to beef up the R&D, manufacturing and distribution efforts. Luxury watchmaker Rotoris, founded by Prerna Gupta and Aakash Anand, raised Rs 70 crore in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures to expand production and its physical presence.

The funding trend also continued to the specialised consumer and services niche segments. Skincare brand CHOSEN, founded by Renita Rajan, India launched an extension of its Series A round of Wellbeing Nutrition, which is founded by Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, to progress product research, clinical validation and dermatological research. Aashu Manchali, Gargi Pandey, and Reshov Roy, the founders of Bengaluru-based startup Maasi, a childcare company, have raised Rs 6 crore in pre-seed funding with Better Capital as the lead investor and Antler India as the other investors. The company will improve its recruitment, training and technology for caregivers as it continues to grow its childcare offerings.

Programs Empower Women through Enterprise and Clean Energy

Odisha is strengthening women’s economic participation through enterprise development and climate-focused livelihood initiatives. The Department of Mission Shakti has tied up with XIMB and NISWASS for the training of 320 Directors from 64 Women Entrepreneur Producer Companies in Governance, Financial Management, Business Planning and Market Access. The program will be conducted in 13 batches till 22nd December 2026.

Pathways to Climate Resilience, a Japan-funded UNDP program, is supporting renewable-energy livelihoods and climate resilience, while mirroring these efforts. It has equipped 60 women entrepreneurs with productive solar assets and helped 1,165 farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs, and also led the way in planning for climate transition across the state of Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Women Leaders Take Charge of Key Business Roles Across Industries

Tata Consumer Products named Archana Balaraman as its Organic India Business Head and Senior Vice President. With over 17 years of experience in FMCG, she had served for over 14 years at Britannia Industries in various Marketing and Category leadership positions, followed by a stint at Wipro Consumer Care and Johnson & Johnson.

Charu Desodt, Head of Interior Night studio, has been appointed Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee, succeeding Tara Saunders. With over 25 years of industry experience, Desodt has held senior production roles at Microsoft, Sony and Preloaded. A former BAFTA Breakthrough honouree, she has also served on BAFTA Games Awards juries.

In the meantime, Ingram Micro India has appointed Farhana Haque as its Country Lead & Executive Director – Platform Business with effect from October 21, 2026.With experience at Microsoft, Vodafone, IBM and Infosys, she will focus on expanding the company's platform-led business, accelerating Xvantage adoption and strengthening support for SMBs.

Global Initiatives Strengthen Women’s Leadership, Security and Healthcare

Efforts to expand opportunities for women are gaining momentum across leadership, security and healthcare. Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association renamed its annual women CEO meeting to WE-CON in South Korea, in order to strengthen women entrepreneurs' business connections and leadership abilities. The event brought together around 1,500 women entrepreneurs, featuring leadership lectures, discussions on AI, and networking opportunities.

Meanwhile, India pressed for the recruitment of more women in armed forces and its participation in its peacekeeping missions in a UN Security Council discussion on Women, Peace and Security. Indian Army's representative P. Harish spoke about the work done by Indian Army officers in ensuring gender inclusion, protecting the rights of women in conflict zones and women's leadership in peace-building.

Sri Lanka's Women Parliamentarians' Caucus is joining the Ministry of Health to launch a nationwide Health Awareness campaign on breast cancer on November 2. The project will be educating the public on early detection and making screening more accessible and encourage women ages 35-45, especially at risk groups, to pursue early detection opportunities.

Women Achievers Recognised for Transforming India's Business Landscape

Business Today honored the 161 women leaders of the Indian economy with the 23rd edition of Most Powerful Women in Business (MPW) Awards in Mumbai. 100 leaders of listed companies and 61 Super Achievers of unlisted companies were awarded. Innovation, business legacy and consumer trust and opportunities were all themes discussed, with The LaLiT Suri Hospitality Group revealing that it is set to grow its property by 1,000 rooms and sign 20 management deals over five years.

Women’s Football and Cricket Gain Momentum through New Initiatives and Records

Women’s sports in India are witnessing progress through new opportunities and remarkable performances. The Telangana Football Association has approved plans to organise the Telangana Women’s League and an AFC C Licence coaching course for the upcoming season. It also plans to distribute football kits through district-level summer camps to strengthen grassroots participation and coaching development.

Adding to this momentum, Delhi’s women’s cricket team created history in domestic T20 cricket by scoring 262/6 against Hyderabad in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. Tanisha Singh led the innings with 119 runs off 47 balls, helping Delhi secure a 108-run victory.

Final Note

Every opportunity created for women has the potential to influence families, communities and entire industries. WER believes that meaningful progress comes when women have the resources, recognition and freedom to shape their own journeys. These stories remind us that empowerment must translate into lasting opportunities and participation.