SHEVolution
A programme by AIC-RNTU Foundation
A 10-week pre-incubation track for women founders; the 2026 cohort's application status is unclear, with conflicting signals on the programme's own page.
At a glance
| Best for | Women founders, from students to homemakers, with a tech-driven or scalable idea |
|---|---|
| Stage | Idea |
| Duration | 10 weeks |
About SHEVolution
SHEVolution is AIC-RNTU's pre-incubation track for women founders — students, professionals and homemakers among them — aimed at turning an idea into a market-ready MVP. Its 2026 cohort page carries conflicting signals: the page's hero banner says applications are "opening soon" while its status banner separately says applications are closed, so check directly with the centre for the current status.
What you get
- Mentorship from industry leaders and founders
- Hands-on support to build an MVP
- Business-growth workshops covering marketing, operations, strategy, branding and investor pitching
- Legal, IPR and company-registration guidance (costs as per actuals)
- HR and intern support
- Investor and government-funding connections, and a Demo Day pitch
Who can apply: Women entrepreneurs, innovators, students, researchers and early-stage founders with a tech-driven or scalable idea; a registered company is not required to take part.
How selection works: Applications are evaluated on clarity of the idea, commitment to complete the programme, coachability, the founder's and team's background, novelty of the idea, and use of technology.
Where to apply
Other AIC-RNTU Foundation programmes
- IdeateA 10-week pre-incubation programme that helps idea-stage founders turn a concept into an MVP.
- DiscoverA 13-week hybrid incubation programme for early-stage startups working toward market entry and pre-seed or seed funding.
- GrowthAn accelerator for revenue-generating startups; AIC-RNTU's own pages give its length as both 10 and 12 weeks.
- Investment Ready Program (IRP)A 10-week programme, currently closed to applications, preparing revenue-generating startups to raise investment.
- Investment BridgeA recurring, sector-specific pitch day for revenue-generating startups; the open edition is scoped to deeptech and AI.
- GENESISMeitY's Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups scheme, delivered at AIC-RNTU through an EIR grant, an investment-matching grant, pilot funding, and deep-tech funding.
- NIDHI-Seed Support Program (NIDHI-SSP)DST's seed-support scheme for early-stage, primarily science-and-technology startups, delivered through AIC-RNTU; closed at the time of research.
- Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)DPIIT's national seed-fund scheme; AIC-RNTU is one of its implementing incubators.
- iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence)AIC-RNTU supports founders applying to the Ministry of Defence's iDEX scheme, across its DISC, iDEX Prime, Open Challenge and ADITI sub-schemes.
- MSME Idea HackathonA Ministry of MSME innovation challenge that AIC-RNTU hosts through RNTU as the recognised Host Institute; its 5th edition closed at the end of July 2025.