WER Week Wrap: Women Shaping Markets, Missions & Milestones

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 24 July 2026

Beyond milestones and achievements, today’s progress is reflected in the women building stronger ecosystems, redefining leadership, and accelerating change across sectors.

At Women Entrepreneurs Review, we believe progress is best measured not just by individual achievements, but by the ecosystems that enable women to lead, innovate, and inspire at scale.

This edition presents narratives of groundbreaking leadership appointments, shifting public policies, innovative health programs, startup initiatives, firsts in strategic investments, and first-time successes, all of which are reshaping the possibilities for women.

These developments reflect the rising tide of inclusive growth where collaboration, innovation and intentional leadership is presenting new opportunities and paving the way for India—and the world—of the next generation of women changemakers.

Public Policy: Governments Champion Women’s Growth through Inclusive Development Strategies

From creating policy initiatives to support women entrepreneurs, financial inclusion to rural livelihoods and public safety, governments across India are taking targeted policy actions. Telangana has proposed a new women entrepreneurs hub near Hyderabad and is building infrastructure for women entrepreneurs by providing support through SHG, skill development centres and improving market access. In Tamilnadu, NGO Pasumai Ulagam empowered the entrepreneurship among women at the ground level by conducting financial literacy training for 30 women entrepreneurs and providing financial support of ₹3 lakh in the form of grants for their sustainable business.

Further strengthening the women-led enterprises, the Andhra Pradesh government, through its Minister, has requested the Central government to provide more support under the PMFME Scheme, especially in terms of increasing subsidy, removing interest liability on loans disbursed, and providing better market penetration facilities to Women Entrepreneurs of the SHG. In parallel, Kerala has taken the initiative to ensure women's safety by starting a Pink Bus night service in Thiruvananthapuram, providing late night transportation service to women alone, with plans to increase the number of Pink Bus to cover the state.

Similar initiatives are being implemented, where the Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has launched a free livestock distribution program in 13 districts to enhance the economic empowerment of women. The project is designed to achieve productive assets for widowed and divorced rural women to create sustainable livelihoods, enhance their financial autonomy, and alleviate poverty. These efforts are part of a broader policy shift towards promoting safer, more inclusive and economically enabling environments for women's entrepreneurship, livelihoods, financial inclusion and mobility.

Women Entrepreneurship Programs & Initiatives: Beyond Business, Towards Impact

Governments, institutions and global organisations are rolling out transformative programs to enhance women entrepreneurship, leadership, digital security and career progression. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) in partnership with Reliance Foundation awarded five Rural Women Kirana Entrepreneurs a sum of ₹1 lakh under the Empowering Rural Women Kirana Entrepreneurs (RWKE) pilot. The program trained 108 women in Madhya Pradesh, equipping them with the skills of financial literacy, digital literacy, and business skills, to create sustainable rural businesses.

Further encouraging women-led businesses, Goldman Sachs has also opened applications for its 10,000 Women Program in India designed to further support women-led businesses. The program, sponsored by IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Lucknow, provides business education, mentorship and leadership development to help women entrepreneurs scale up their business and sustain growth.

Under Gujarat Police's cyber awareness campaign, Operation Surakshit Cyberspace, 5,000+ cyber awareness programs were held in the state in two weeks to help strengthen women's safety in the digital ecosystem. This effort reaches women and children via schools, colleges and outreach programs, and includes education on cyber safety including deepfakes, sextortion, cyberstalking and online grooming, as well as responsible online use.

Professional development continues to be a focus. The Madhya Pradesh Bar Association, Indore, has initiated a mentorship initiative for young female attorneys and legal interns, offering career advice, networking opportunities, and hands-on legal training from seasoned professionals to empower women in the legal profession and foster their success.

On the global front, Cambodia and Laos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the areas of women's empowerment, gender equality and legal protection of women's rights for the period 2026-2030, further strengthening regional cooperation to achieve inclusive growth.

In support of these, the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry – WISE (Women Innovators and Entrepreneurs) vertical launched the WISE whitepaper, which highlighted structural barriers for female innovators and entrepreneurs and suggested policy changes, the establishment of a WISE fund, and deeper collaboration between the BRICS nations to build inclusive innovation ecosystems.

CNBC-TV18's Future. Female. Forward. The Season 4 finale took place in Bengaluru where business giants discussed the future of work, AI, inclusive leadership and women entrepreneurship. The summit further recognized FFF Icons for reimagining leadership, and the importance of trust, innovation, and increased capital access for women entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, extending the conversation beyond policy into social empowerment, SAFI has taken the dialogue one step further, introducing a new campaign for the launch of a new skin care brand, Youth Gold Rania, that promotes women's self-confidence, resilience, emotional health, and self-care. They all represent a collective trend towards establishing enabling environments to enable women to thrive, innovate and lead in all sectors of society and economy.

Health & Innovation: AI, Screening & Maternal Care Advancing Women’s Health

In India and Malaysia, women-focused healthcare programs are gaining momentum in promoting prevention, early detection, and quality health services. During the Women Cancer Summit 2026 in Mysore, esteemed oncologists and gynecologists emphasized the need for early detection, integrated management strategies, and prompt action to combat breast, cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. The increasing use of AI and robotic-assisted surgery for greater precision, treatment planning, and patient outcomes was also highlighted by experts.

To complement these actions, Malaysia rolled out its Free Cervical Screening Program as a collaboration between Etiqa and the Rose Foundation. Since 2019, the program, which has helped detect over 28,700 women, is continuing to expand to women who are hard to reach, such as women with disabilities. Self-sampling for HPV and HPV detection strategies play an important role in the national strategy to eliminate cervical cancer and to provide access to preventive healthcare.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has been improving maternal and neonatal care by introducing 500 Thalli-Bidda Express vehicles. Nearly 2.75 lakh families are estimated to benefit from the dedicated fleet every year, as well as enhancing access to hospital services for pregnant women, new mothers, and newborns, especially in high-risk pregnancies and post-natal care.

Brand in Focus: Dhoni Invests in SolarSquare's Clean Energy Vision

SolarSquare, the residential rooftop solar startup, has raised $53 million in a Series C round of financing led by B Capital and with former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni investing through his family office Midas Deals and serving as the company's brand ambassador. The funding will enable the company to expand to 30-40 new cities, bolster its technology platform, expand homeowner financing, and increase customer service, all of which will help drive the residential rooftop solar market in India.

Funding Spotlight: AI Startups Secure Capital to Accelerate Innovation and Expansion

AI startups UpKraft and Bioscan Research have raised new rounds of capital to support innovation in education and healthcare. Kritika Varandani's UpKraft, a Bengaluru-based company, raised ₹1.6 crore in a pre-seed round led by PedalStart, to build its AI-powered extracurricular learning platform, expand its reach to Bengaluru and Gurugram, and scale up its technology and product teams.

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based medtech startup Bioscan Research, founded by Shilpa Malik, has raised $1 million in seed funding from Unicorn India Ventures to advance its brain injury detection device, CEREBO, growth in new markets, regulatory clearances and product development. This investment collectively shows a heightened investor trust in AI-driven solutions to solve pressing problems in education and healthcare.

Top Leadership Appointments: Women Leaders Orchestrate the Next Wave of Business Growth

Leading organisations have announced a range of important appointments to their leadership teams, all aimed at bolstering marketing, human resource and business growth capabilities. The Central Government has appointed Vandana Singh as Commissioner (Land Management) in Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The appointment has been approved for four years under the Central Staffing Scheme. Johnson's Baby hired up Pragya Mehra as a global marketing background to strengthen the global positioning and parent-centric communication of the brand.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has appointed its next Director General, Saadia Zahidi, a first woman to lead the global aviation body since its establishment.

In the meantime, Sanaa Shaikh has taken up the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Signature Scents & Co., where she will be leading the brand growth and customer engagement initiatives. McDonald's India (West & South) further bolstered its leadership with the appointment of Mehak Jaini as Head of Marketing, who has been with the brand for more than 19 years, with a proven track of 17 years in the brand strategy and integrated marketing space, aiming to engage customers and grow its business.

The momentum of leadership was also carried forward throughout the human resources function. Varsha Jagwani has been appointed as Head of Human Resources (HR) – India for Envista Holdings Corporation, where she will be handling leadership development, organisational capability, and talent strategy. Reena Talla also joined Hilti Malaysia as the Head of Human Resources with over 20 years of regional HR leadership experience joining to lead the talent development, employee engagement and people-first organisational initiatives.

The advertising and communications industry also saw strategic leadership growth with Sharmista Dev becoming Head of Growth–East at Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH and Propagate. With her strong expertise in Business Development and Brand Strategy, she will take charge of strengthening existing client relationship and help to grow business across eastern India.

Together, they demonstrate that companies from consumer brands to healthcare and construction to advertising are betting on proven talent to bolster their brand positioning, develop future talent, and move fast towards sustainable business development.

Women Milestones: Celebrating Historic Firsts That Redefine Women's Leadership in India

India is seeing incredible achievements as women shatter long-held boundaries in the military, police, governance and the armed forces. The Military had a momentous occasion when Captain Shivani became the first female Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Chief of the Army Staff.

IPS officer Meenu Chaudhary was the first female to become Inspector General of SSB Lucknow Frontier, adding decades of policing experience to border security and operational excellence in the paramilitary forces. BJP leader Pooja Wadhwa was elected as the first woman Mayor of Abohar Municipal Corporation in a landmark move in local governance for Punjab.

The combined effect of these appointments reflects an emerging trajectory in India's leadership landscape, highlighting the growing presence of women in positions of significant prestige and strategic importance within the public service, defense, and governance sectors, thereby motivating future generations to strive for excellence and success in these fields.