WEneurs

Choose the right programme

• Idea stage: the Seedling Program is the entry point. Student innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs can apply, and so can women teams with male co-founders.
• Early stage with a proof of concept: the Explorer Program is a standing support package.
• A marketable product and a plan to scale: the Accelerator Program is a six-month cohort for women-led startups.
• Ready to raise angel or venture funding: the Trail Blazer Program focuses on pitch training and investor meetings.
• Sustainability or circular economy: EcoVision is built for these startups and is open to founders from underserved regions.
• Women entrepreneurs from underprivileged backgrounds: SAKSHAM is the growth programme to ask about.

How applications work

• Programmes are run as intakes or standing packages, and the programme pages do not give current dates. Write to info@weneurs.in to ask which intake is open.
• The Entrepreneur sign up page on the WEneurs website is the general registration route.
• The EcoVision application link on its page was not working when we last checked, so confirm with the team that an intake is open before preparing an application.
• The Seed Spark Program has no open cohort on the site. Its earlier cohorts ran in 2023.

Ask about cost before you commit

• The Explorer and Trail Blazer packages say additional charges apply, without stating them. Ask what the charge covers and whether the team takes equity.
• The Accelerator Program page gives no fee or equity terms. Ask in writing.
• Seed Spark charged participants a programme fee, and the share refunded to participants nominated by WEneurs differed between its sixth and seventh cohorts.

What reviewers look for

• Seedling asks for a unique, innovative idea with commercial potential.
• Explorer asks for an early-stage startup with a proof of concept.
• Accelerator asks for a women-led startup that already has a marketable product.
• Trail Blazer asks for an advanced-stage women-led startup that is seeking angel or venture funding.

WEneurs Forum is a non-profit organisation in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that supports women entrepreneurs in building their ideas and shaping their business models. It describes itself as Odisha's first women-focused incubator and accelerator, and a partner body, FICCI FLO, also calls it a women-focused incubator and accelerator. This page covers its programmes, who can apply, how to reach it and who runs it.

How the programmes work

WEneurs organises its support as a ladder. The Seedling Program is a four-week online pre-business programme for women with a startup at the idea stage. The Explorer Program is a standing package for early-stage startups that already have a proof of concept. The Accelerator Program is a six-month cohort for women-led startups with a marketable product that want to scale. The Trail Blazer Program is an investor-readiness package for advanced-stage women-led startups looking for angel or venture capital funding. Seedling graduates can be taken on under the Explorer Program.

The Explorer and Trail Blazer packages carry additional charges for entrepreneurs. WEneurs does not state the charge, or whether it takes equity, on the programme pages, so ask before you apply. The same is true of the Accelerator Program, where the page gives no fee or equity terms.

Three further programmes sit beside these. SAKSHAM is a growth programme for women entrepreneurs from underprivileged backgrounds, supported by Info Edge CSR with Aspire Labs as knowledge partner. EcoVision is a two-phase incubation and acceleration programme for sustainability and circular-economy startups, run with Aspire Labs. Seed Spark was a five-month online programme run with Stanford Seed, and its dated cohorts are closed.

Who can apply

Most programmes are for women entrepreneurs. The Seedling Program also accepts student innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs at the idea stage, and women teams with male co-founders can apply. Seedling describes itself as open to founders around the country. The Seed Spark Program was not limited to women on its page and was aimed at early-stage startups with traction or in the growth stage.

SAKSHAM is described on its poster as being for underprivileged women entrepreneurs. The poster's Hindi line describes women entrepreneurs and businesswomen from backward classes. The page does not state a stage, turnover limit, state or age limit.

EcoVision is open to sustainability and circular-economy startups, with a stated focus on underserved regions and women founders. No stage is given.

What participants get

The Explorer package lists brand visibility on the WEneurs platform and on NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform, updates on government schemes for women entrepreneurs, introductions to suitable incubators, discounted fees for training programmes, a business-review meeting with a panel of advisors and mentors, and a WhatsApp group with an expert mentor for selected startups. It also lists support with the business plan, pitch deck, market study and first customers, with a website and apps, with company incorporation and tax registration, with hiring, and with IP facilitation and office space where required.

The Accelerator Program lists brand features and media interviews, digital marketing, mentor-led boot camps on finance, talent acquisition and management practices, mentor-led coaching for investor pitching with a weekly mentor's clinic, connections to R&D institutes, and a chance to pitch to a pool of investors. Trail Blazer offers pitch training and one-to-one interaction with investors.

Seedling offers workshops and expert sessions, diagnostic sessions, one-to-one mentoring, brainstorming and idea-pitching sessions, a chance to present to investors, and a pre-business graduation certificate.

Track record

The 2022 Seedling edition started on 12 September 2022 and ended with a demo day on 14 November 2022. The page lists 24 startups from that edition. For the Seed Spark Program, WEneurs reported more than 110 early-revenue entrepreneurs from India, Pakistan and Nepal in its sixth cohort, which started in February 2023. These are the organisation's own figures.

WEneurs also runs Aadyaa, a free online programme for school girls in classes 8 to 12. It teaches the basics of entrepreneurship, idea generation, design thinking and intellectual property, and the top three ideas receive cash prizes. It is not a programme for founders. WEneurs also advises other incubators and academic institutes through its Incubating the Incubators service.

In 2025, FICCI FLO reported signing an agreement with WEneurs Forum to co-partner in WISE, a five-month hybrid acceleration initiative for women in STEM entrepreneurship. WEneurs' own site has no open call or terms for WISE, so check with the team before relying on it.

Who runs it

Dr. Manisha Acharya is the founder director. Jayanti Mahapatra and Saswat Kumar Panda are co-founders; Panda is vice president for strategy and partnerships. WEneurs does not state a founding year on its pages.

Locations and contact

The registered office is in Kalinga Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751003. The corporate office is in Jaydev Vihar, Bhubaneswar 751013. Programmes run online or in hybrid form, so founders outside Odisha can take part. Write to info@weneurs.in or use the Entrepreneur sign up link on the WEneurs website to register interest.