Google, 91Springboard launch entrepreneurship program for women in tier-II cities

• Google for Entrepreneurs is partnering with 91Springboard to launch an entrepreneurship program across tier-II cities in India.
• The company also stated that the program is aimed at providing direction to women entrepreneurs in these cities.
  
• The partners will also be launching the Google for Entrepreneurs Lounge in Delhi.

In its latest initiative in India to date, Google has partnered with 91Springboard, a coworking community, through it’s entrepreneurship initiative, Google for Entrepreneurs. According to the company, the project is aimed at new and aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women, and will focus on providing mentorship and skills training.

Earlier this year, Google for Entrepreneurs brought their partnership with TechHub to India as well. It empowered local members of the tech entrepreneurs community to have access to Google’s programs and to their intellectual resources.

Their plan is to launch a total of 24 programs over the span of two years in tier-II cities across the country. Cities in that segment have often been quoted as the ‘growth engines’ for the coming future. That being said, the gap between the supply and demand of employment in these cities has limited their growth.

In order to expand it’s entrepreneurship network, Google for Entrepreneurs is also launching their lounge. It’s basically a hub where entrepreneurs can share ideas and collaborate on projects. They have similar lounges in Madrid, Seoul, Warsaw among other cities.

Globally, the platform has around 50 partners and is involved with six campuses. 91Springboard will also integrate their network of nearly 8,000 entrepreneurs with Google’s network.

The potential in tier-II cities

EY’s report from 2017 cites how 30 tier-II cities in India have the greatest potential for marginal revenue in the coming years due their untapped potential. That means there are markets and under-saturated hotspots that can drive growth.

The demographic makeup of these cities also play in their favour with most people between the ages of 15-24 years, which provides a consumer base as well as business opportunities.

In order to empower the entrepreneurs to exploit these opportunities, Google for Entrepreneurs’ training will focus on addressing leadership obstacles and technological solutions, running design prints and providing one-on-one mentorship for the female entrepreneurs that sign up.

In recent years India has seen a host of co-working spaces pop up as well as local start-ups where some become successful while ones only have their 2 minutes in the spotlight. That being said, India’s spirit of innovation and invention is often questioned and criticized for being unoriginal. According to an IBM’s report titled, ‘Éntrepreneurial India’, 90% of Indian startups fail within the first five years. And, 77% of the time the reason that comes to light is ‘lack of innovation’.