herSTART 5th Edition is a flagship women-focused startup support and acceleration initiative led by the Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) in partnership with UNICEF and SBI Mutual Funds. The program is designed to empower women entrepreneurs and women-led startups by providing structured incubation, access to government grants, private investment opportunities, and long-term ecosystem support.
The initiative aims to support women founders in transforming early-stage ideas into scalable and sustainable businesses. Through a structured support model combining bootcamp training, accelerator programming, mentorship, industry connects, and demo day exposure, herSTART creates a comprehensive pathway for growth across multiple startup stages.
Selected participants can access government grants of up to ₹50 lakhs and private investments of up to ₹5 crores, subject to evaluation and eligibility. In addition to funding access, startups receive incubation support through GUSEC, including business mentoring, strategic planning assistance, investor readiness preparation, and networking with ecosystem partners. The program follows a structured scrutiny and shortlisting process lasting approximately 30–45 days, after which shortlisted applicants are invited for subsequent evaluation stages.
The programnis free of cost, and no application or participation fees are charged.