Bengaluru — Goldman Sachs announced today that 200 women entrepreneurs from its 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative, which seeks to support women entrepreneurs with access to capital, are poised to raise an estimated 850 crore rupees (US$100 million) from investors, helping to expand businesses and create new jobs.
Speaking at an event today at the firm’s Bengaluru office to mark the completion of 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative, the chief guest of the event, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Cabinet Minister and Minister for Commerce and Industry, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative highlights the untapped potential in women. I am confident that they will continue to break barriers and empower others. They are committed to investing in and supporting the progress of women. Currently, 3,500 women from this initiative have created job opportunities and are driving economic activities. The program also demonstrates how these women contribute significantly to the Government’s journey of Amrit Kaal as we work towards achieving India’s Viksit Bharat goal by 2047.”
Asahi Pompey, global head of Goldman Sachs’ Office of Corporate Engagement, said: “Empowering women entrepreneurs with the right skills, meaningful mentorship and strategic networks to access the right kind of capital at the right time is not just transformative for their business – it is a powerful catalyst for sustainable job creation, wealth generation and economic growth.”
Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs in India, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth initiative equips women entrepreneurs with a deeper understanding of how they can access external finance for growth. It is a testament to our commitment to support women-led businesses by bridging the credit gap through our network of investors in India.”
Gunjan Samtani, global chief operating officer of Engineering at Goldman Sachs and country head of Goldman Sachs Services India, said: “The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women has a proven record of enabling women entrepreneurs to drive economic growth in India, and has built an ecosystem to support them and address business challenges together.”
Other notable external attendees at the event were the two-time Oscar winner Guneet Monga, celebrated journalist Faye D’Souza, and leaders from the industry and academia.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Finance for Growth was developed and launched in 2023 in partnership with NSRCEL, the incubation arm of IIM Bangalore. More than 400 graduates of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women participated in this initiative designed to equip women entrepreneurs with an enhanced understanding of business finance, provide mentoring and networking opportunities, and connecting them with investors. The initiative draws on findings from a study of 10,000 Women graduates across India titled Breaking Barriers: Unlocking the Potential of Women Entrepreneurs, which showed program participants doubled their workforce, quadrupled their revenue, and increased productivity by five-folds, within 18 months of program completion, and see capital access and awareness on available financing avenues domestically and internationally as their biggest growth barrier.
