I don’t know where to start, but as a woman in business, this feels terribly personal. These are MSMEs, an underserved sector globally. While rooms in corporations have started to become more equitable and balanced, the smaller business owners and the ones led by women are losing out on opportunities to grow; many would opine that “we need better policies”.

Sure! But we also need more voices in the ecosystem who have access to microphones (both digital & physical) and the privilege to opine to come forward and speak up. To hold space even when we still live in a world where “he” and “business leader” are synonymous.

A mere 3.5% of equity investment went to women-led businesses in the first half of 2023​. What can we do for women-led MSMEs to actively participate and develop opportunities through resources and open education that fosters collaboration and inclusiveness?

The landscape of female entrepreneurship is at a transformative juncture. Let’s define the problem better:

Dissecting the Disparity in Financing

1. Developed nations have similar problems too: Boston Consulting Group’s and SISTA's research on women-founded startups in Europe, published in 2023, is a comprehensive study that highlights the underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem, particularly in key European markets, and calls for action to address these disparities.

Another report from McKinsey's "Women in the Workplace 2023" provides an in-depth analysis of women’s experiences and representation in corporate America, including insights into the challenges and opportunities for women in entrepreneurship.

2. In 2023, a mere 3.5% of equity investments targeted women-led businesses​​.

3. More than half of women business owners express unmet financing needs​.

4. An estimated $11.7 trillion finance gap exists for women-owned MSMEs globally​.

5. Women are 15 percent less likely than men to have bank accounts at formal financial institutions (Findex).

6. Women are 20 percent less likely than men to have borrowed formally from financial institutions (World Bank).

We-Fi's Pioneering Efforts

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) from The World Bank Group, stands at the forefront of addressing these challenges. With over $340 million raised, $43Mn+ deployed and a focus on maximizing development financing, We-Fi aims to remove barriers for women entrepreneurs in developing countries​​.

The initiative's success stories, like Jordan’s Water Wise Women initiative, highlight its transformative impact. This program trained over 300 women as plumbers, challenging gender stereotypes and improving water management in their communities​.

The Indian Diaspora and opportunities for growth

*excerpts from Bain and Company’s report on Women Entrepreneurship in India

Given India’s economic and geographic diversity, successful intervention requires understanding and tailoring initiatives for budding and established entrepreneurs. There are six dominant segments with varying demographics, motivations, ambitions and constraints. Understanding these segments will help identify the right opportunities and frame the necessary institutional, economic and social support for entrepreneurship.

While motivations, advocacy, and challenges manifest differently across segments, five common themes emerge:

• Women have high growth aspirations: Whether spurred on by necessity or opportunity, women want to scale their businesses. More than 90% of the respondents had aspirations to grow, though ambitions are bolder and clearer for scaled entrepreneurs and small business owners compared to solopreneurs.

• Limited access to business and technical skills: Despite an increasingly educated population, limited access to relevant business and technical skills is a major impediment in scaling and tapping the necessary resources.

• Women are less integrated with formal and informal networks: which constrains their ability to access business opportunities, mentors, and informal knowledge.

• Access to funds remains constrained: Low personal savings and assets, limited financial support from friends and family, and a lack of funding from banks or private investors make it hard to start, grow, and scale. Despite evidence suggesting that women-owned enterprises are profitable segments that demonstrate greater brand loyalty, higher savings percentages, and similar repayment rates as male-owned enterprises, limited access to finance continues to impact women disproportionately. This is often compounded by lower access to business and technical skills.

• Personal and social challenges are a big hurdle for most women: Social permission to work can be difficult to obtain because of cultural practices, social beliefs, and safety concerns. Balancing a business with often unpaid roles as caregivers, household managers, and home-based workers is difficult. Women’s own attitudes towards outside work, including low confidence and fear of failure, also inhibit potential entrepreneurs.

• Integrated policy framework for accelerating entrepreneurship amongst women, with an emphatic inclusion of semi-urban and rural India - A national mission, housed in the PMO , and with CMs, at the state level to lead the charge on women’s business ownership, with a mandate to develop a coordinated plan across public and private agencies - Tailored policies to enable women-friendly sectors as well as enterprises sizes—for example, crops more accessible to rural women or women-friendly sectors, small and medium enterprises, as well as micro and more informal enterprises - Expand the number of SHGs across India - Accelerate and scale enabling programs such as Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program , with a specifically articulated focus on supporting women SHGs on enterprise development - Easier entrepreneurial environment across the ecosystem, including for smaller, more traditional and informal enterprises that tend to appeal to women

• Equal access to finance through broad-based gender responsiveness across the financing sector; women-focused funding initiatives led by the investing community, including dedicated pitch days and funds dedicated to women-led companies - Existence and fair disbursement of tailored financial products, such as lending with no collateral or innovative collateral, smaller-sized loans (even smaller than Shishu loans in Mudra), bundled business enablement services - One-stop loan portals (online, physical) to provide information, guidance and support to access all existing public and private instruments - Simplified and transparent loan application process across the country, with fast-tracked disbursement enabled by a robust women-run applicant support mechanism - Integrated implementation plan, including clear actions, budgeting, targets, supporting training and accountability within the banking system to track progress, root causes and a corrective feedback loop

• Increased and creative access to capability development and mentorship - Broad-based increase in the number of incubators and accelerators, including remote (online) accelerators, tailored to the unique constraints and skill requirements of women - Special focus on establishing incubators focused on sectors that are traditionally male dominated to ensure entrepreneurship is not reinforcing prevailing gender stereotypes - Targeted online programmes, including sector-specific online courses and start-up guides, for starting and scaling businesses in India - Grassroots digital literacy and enablement for women entrepreneurs to access wider technical and market knowledge - Strong individual action through “pay it forward” mentorship, especially championing women across the entrepreneurship ecosystem - Cross-pollination of best practices to replicate and scale successful mentorship models and forums across the country

• Tighter integration in to formal and informal networks - Informal and inclusive support networks championed by male and female entrepreneurs to facilitate exchange of ideas, information, capital, and formal and informal counsel - Local, women-only networking programmes such as at a village, panchayat or city-level to spur entrepreneurial engagement and participation across India - Government-led programmes enabled by public-private partnerships to provide direct access to technical and business counselling as well as public market opportunities - Encouragement for integration of women entrepreneurs into corporate value chains enabled by a reassessment of corporate social responsibility norms; scale examples such as Godrej Salon-i have the potential to be replicated broadly

• Creation and celebration of role models - Cross-media campaigns led by national and state governments to celebrate successes of individuals and communities to drive positive attitudes - Mainstreaming of a diverse set of female and male entrepreneurs to break beliefs around stereotypes (for example, parental roles) by various media across urban, semi-urban and rural India - Encouragement of entrepreneurship in gender-balanced ways (for example, case studies, guest lectures), among tertiary learning institutions The success of implementing these solutions for prospective and current women entrepreneurs will depend on an integrated and comprehensive framework. Women’s economic empowerment will require government and policy makers, the banking ecosystem, investment community, private sector, focused catalysts, and women entrepreneurs to collaborate (see Figure 11). As an example, women-friendly selection norms for public procurement by the state or local governments support high-impact entrepreneurs, the “willing middle” and the top of the funnel. Gender sensitisation and training for the banking community can enhance financial access for all women entrepreneurs. Focused initiatives such as women-only self-help groups and incubators can improve networking and mentorship, tackling two of the social challenges to entrepreneurial success; especially in rural and semi-urban India. For true advancement and employment gains, women’s entrepreneurship is a compelling solution to realise the demographic dividend, engage the female population, and accelerate social and economic outcomes. While entrepreneurship brings its unique challenges and positives relative to traditional employment, easing the environment and addressing gender-specific constraints will exponentially increase the vibrancy, returns and multipliers for India.

At Intelekt AI, we are committed to democratizing access to AI technology, ensuring it serves as a catalyst for empowerment and equality. Our engagement with global leaders and initiatives like We-Fi underscores our dedication to fostering an inclusive ecosystem where technology and innovation go hand in hand with social progress.

We have launched a calendar series in 2024, dedicated to women in business, technology, and art, which will soon be available for you to access. The proceeds from this will go to non-profit initiatives that support girls and women in STEM and business. (We will share the details in our launch shortly).

Until the next story,
-Sudeshna, CEO, Intelekt AI

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Just over $20Billion flowed in from the developed nations towards the developing nations in the segment. Globally, companies like ‘FlowCarbon’ are working to tap into the growing market for carbon credits companies buy to offset their greenhouse gas emissions as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy in the fight against climate change.

While new asset classes, investments, and narratives shape the future of what assets are held in wealth baskets, AI will continue to play an important role in shaping the future of this industry.

Areas like credit risk assessment, business onboarding, maintaining transparency, and impact measurement will involve dealing with multiple different data sources, huge dataset parsing, and a tremendous amount of computing being invested to make the world carbon neutral.

We will be writing a follow-up piece on the technology and it’s impact. Today, we will learn about the industry first.

Tune in to our podcast, where Kaushik Sur, CEO of MyPlan8 gets into a candid chat with Sudeshna and discusses in depth about ‘conscious capitalism’, ‘circular economy', and macros that’s shifting mindsets to bring visibility to the new and growing ‘green asset class’.

In this journey, Fintechs are at the forefront, reshaping how we interact with money and business in groundbreaking ways.

The challenges brought by Covid-19 have been a tough but revealing teacher for Fintechs, highlighting what truly matters.

UPI, digital onboarding, digital lending has created a new stack of ‘Bharat Finance’. As things evolve, there's a shift in how companies are valued and how investment flows, marking a new chapter in the financial world.

In conversation with Gaurav Bhojak, an industry veteran who has led digital strategy and customer journeys of companies like Sharekhan, IIFL, ex-cofounder of 1Finance and now building The Elevate - a consulting company that helps fintechs / financial services companies craft their scale up journeys.

In this discussion we covered important aspects of enabling MSMEs in their technology transformation journeys. Themes revolved around -

1. Where do they stand today in tech-readiness?

2. Where do they form their understanding from?

3. What does the mindset towards tech-enablement look like?

4. Who’s making the decisions and what are they thinking?

…and many more areas that’s covered through the course of the discussion.

To everyone who joined in to watch the Intelekt AI demo day live, thank you!

Today’s newsletter is about my reflections on my launch.

But before I do that, here is some key information from the session that you don’t want to miss:

Watch the launch video here

Intelekt AI launched its much-awaited partner program. If you align with our mission to democratize access to AI for underserved businesses that contribute more than 35% of the Indian economy, we want to partner with you.

You can be a student, a working professional, or a leading organization; our extensive program accommodates people who are driven by the mission and not restricted by where they are in their journey.

Apply here to become an Intelekt AI partner

We post daily on our LinkedIn page about business use cases and stories from the world of AI. Follow us to improve your AI know-how by 1% every day.

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I believe that the future isn't written in the stars but coded in our collective aspirations, and the true power of AI isn't in its code but in the dreams it fuels and the futures it crafts.

The demo day launch of Intelekt AI Cloud marked a momentous occasion for all of us.

As I stared at the zoom screen, looking at people logging in expecting to watch us unveil, my mind was transported to times when I would admire the iconic tech launches of Google, Apple, and Tesla and people like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk talking and unveiling innovations.

What had moved people then wasn't merely about the technology; it was the unveiling of a vision, a promise of technology melding with life to create something transformative.

MSMEs are underserved. They are mostly always lagging in technical readiness. Yet they move economies. They bring in products, employment, money, and, above all, progress that we collectively enjoy.

Will it be fair if we do not give them the necessary support they need to become AI-enabled?

In numbers, less than 1% of them who are the foundation of our global economy, accounting for over 50% of the global GDP and employing billions, have the technical readiness for this wave of change. The inability to harness AI solutions is costing us trillions annually. This isn’t just monetary; it's a loss of potential, innovation, and progress.

But imagine a different narrative.

Picture a fertilizer product distributor in Indore, India, forecasting its seasonal demands with precision through ML models, or a family-run textile business in Bangkok, Thailand, expanding its footprint globally using GenAI models that help it break the language barrier with suppliers and buyers in the international market.

This is the future Intelekt AI is dedicated to sculpting—a future where AI is not a distant, complex tool but a close ally for every business, big or small.

History is rife with tales of visionaries who scaled great heights by enabling others.

Richard Branson, starting with a modest record store, grew an empire by amplifying voices through Virgin Records.

Howard Schultz's vision turned Starbucks from a singular coffee store in Seattle into a global hub of connection.

These stories exemplify what's possible when we enable and uplift.

At Intelekt AI, we're not just building technology; we're crafting legacies.

To our esteemed customers, partners, and well-wishers, your belief fuels our drive.

Yesterday was not just a product launch; it was a commitment to a shared future, rich with promise and potential.

I'm grateful for your support and excited about the future we will build together.

I promise that in every line of code we write, we will get a step closer to a world where dreams are the currency and innovation is the trade.

We will enable the wheels that move the world to move with less friction as we grow the Intelekt AI cloud.

- Sudeshna

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"Who do you represent?" When Dr.Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister asked me this, it prompted a moment of reflection - a consideration of the role we each play in shaping the future. It's not just about the countries we come from, but the vision we carry forward. A vision where innovation meets dynamism, creating a narrative between countries & cults that's economically robust and empowering.

The Backstory - Epic Indo-Dutch collabs, that shaped us. Let’s rewind for a sec:

• Remember the time when Philips, that Dutch tech giant, collaborated with Indian bigwigs and changed the game? Over $500 million were invested in that partnership.

• Or when the Netherlands’ ASML jumped in to help India's semiconductor dreams, contributing to a $1 billion industry, and sparked a digital revolution?

Those weren’t just business deals; they were landmark moments that showcased the magic of collaboration.

Fast forward to now, the world is all abuzz about AI, and guess what? We’re smack dab in the middle of it.

India is emerging as a global AI powerhouse, with over $6 billion invested in AI startups in 2022 alone, and the Netherlands is rapidly growing, being home to over 25,000 tech companies.

The real deal though, is not just about the tech or the money; it’s about making a real impact. Access to technological benefits are available only to folks with understanding of technology and access to capital.

Roughly <10% of workforce represents the digitally aware.

The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), contributing to over 30% of GDP and employing over 100 million people in India alone. The Dutch are the 2nd Largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, and 7th largest exporter of goods - roughly 1.43Mn SMEs who contribute to 64% of the countries employment.

Do they all have access to the AI and technology’s power at large? No.

Digitally nascent organisations experience stunted or plateaued growth. Automation is no more a vitamin and AI-enabled automation is a painkiller on steroids. So the real question is - how to do we acclimatise our efforts to make technology accessible for all?

Picture a Dutch manufacturer and Indian MSMEs teaming up, using AI to optimize supply chains and exchange goods and services smoothly. Optiply, a company which was a part of the delegation is now exploring the Indian markets for such partnerships.

That, folks, is AI democratization in action.

Trade between the Netherlands and India amounted to ~$17 billion in 2021-22. Now, envision that infused with AI-driven supply chain platforms, predictive demand analytics, and automated customs. That’s not just an upgrade; it’s a revolution.

Our vision at Intelekt AI is more than a partnership. It’s a commitment to nurturing prosperity, progress, and tackling global challenges head-on. By strengthening trade ties, fostering global partnerships, and harnessing the power of AI, we're not just redefining possibilities; we're realizing them.

The Future is Now:

We're on the cusp of something extraordinary—a future where collaboration knows no bounds, and potential is limitless. Are you ready to be part of this extraordinary narrative?

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Intelekt AI

’s bi-weekly newsletter is written by its founders - Sudeshna, Gaurab and the team. We talk about our own reflections on our journeys as founders in the Indian technology ecosystem and learnings from building a business ground up.

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