Hyderabad, May 08: TiE Hyderabad, which stands for The Indus Entrepreneurs and which is a global nonprofit organisation focused on fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, education, funding connections, and incubation, organised TiE Women Roadshow on Thursday at T-Works in Raidurgam in the city.
Over 100 women, aspiring entrepreneurs from different walks of life, participated in the roadshow.
The Roadshow was organised to create awareness about TiE Women, which is a unique program that helps women founders grow their startups by giving them mentorship, training, networking, visibility, and investor access. The larger idea is to increase and support women's entrepreneurship globally. Part of that is a pitch competition. The 7th Edition of TiE Women will be held later in the year, for which entries are invited from women entrepreneurs from across Telangana. The last date to apply is May 10, 2026.
TiE Women 2026, targets 200 Applicants with statewide Outreach
Announcing an ambitious expansion plan, Murali Kakarla, President, TiE Hyderabad emphasized that language should not be a barrier for aspiring women entrepreneurs. “Let language not stop women from participating,” he said, adding that special Telugu knowledge-sharing and pitching sessions will be conducted to encourage women founders who are comfortable communicating in Telugu.
He also clarified that there is no entry fee to participate in the TiE Women program.
Don’t ignore simple ideas that crop up in your daily lives. Many great companies were built on the simple ideas. Consider TiE Hyderabad as launchpad for your startup.
Dr Murali Bukkapatnam, Past Chairman of the Global Board of Trustees, said entrepreneurship is incomplete until women are involved. "Mera Bharath cannot be Magan until women actively contribute to the nation’s GDP".
This year, the Chapter will be conducting roadshows in Tier 2 cities of Telangana, like Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar and others.
Ankit Sanjay Shah, TiE Hyderabad Committee Chair for TiE Women, described the initiative as a flagship global program that collaborates with over 60 TiE chapters worldwide to embrace, engage, and empower women entrepreneurs through mentorship, investor connects, networking opportunities, and entrepreneurial development programs. Each participating chapter selects one woman entrepreneur to represent it at the Regional Global Pitch Competition, which will be held later this year in one of the Indian cities. Over the years, TiE Hyderabad has engaged and mentored more than 600 women entrepreneurs, with over 100 receiving structured mentorship support.
Highlighting the program’s impact, Murali Kakarla noted that last year’s winner, Sowmya Darapaneni, Founder of Avinya Neurotech, was featured on the prestigious TiE50 and TGS100 global lists of promising startups.
TiE Women Hyderabad has so far engaged over 600 women entrepreneurs and facilitated more than $352,000 in equity-free grants, underlining its tangible contribution to strengthening the startup ecosystem.
Shanthala Veigas, Senior Director, TiE Hyderabad, said that building on the success of last year’s Nizamabad roadshow, the initiative will expand its outreach across Tier-2 cities, including Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, and other parts of Telangana.
The roadshow brought together entrepreneurs, aspiring founders, investors, and ecosystem enablers, providing a vibrant platform for networking, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas.
Women entrepreneurs across Telangana are invited to apply for TiE Women 2026 by expressing their interest through the official application link. Through this expanded edition, TiE Hyderabad reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women founders, enabling access to mentorship and global exposure, and strengthening their role in shaping the region’s entrepreneurial landscape.
MV Reddy of the TiE Women 2026 Committee shared the eligibility criteria for the TiE Women pitching contest focus on supporting women-led startups with strong growth potential. To qualify, a startup must be founded or co-founded by women, and women co-founders must hold at least 33% equity in the company. The business should be registered after January 1, 2019, and must be less than ten years old. Additionally, the startup should be actively raising funds, while idea-stage startups are not eligible for participation. Although these criteria apply specifically to the pitching contest, women entrepreneurs and aspiring founders at any stage are encouraged to participate in TiE Women sessions and events.
A Panel discussion ‘Future is Female’ was held, and Deepa Pulipati, Vijayalakshmi Raghavan, Ankit Shah and Shanthala Veigas participated.
--
--
