DFAT and Indian Government support Australia-India female cybersecurity exchange

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and the Government of Telangana, India have come together to support the launch of the CyberTech Women Entrepreneur program.

Part of the Australia-India Bilateral Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership (AICCTP), the initiative will offer Indian and Australian women entrepreneurs in cyber and critical technologies the opportunity to launch their businesses internationally in the corresponding country.

The Women Entrepreneur Hub (WE Hub) campus in Hyderabad India will host the Australian women entrepreneurs throughout the Indian leg.

According to Deepthi Ravula, CEO at WE Hub, “For over a decade, start-ups, especially women entrepreneurs in tech, have expressed lack of opportunities and financial support to optimally scale-up their businesses globally.

“What differentiates this start-up-scale-up exchange program is that we will not only be offering mentoring, but also supporting them with required financial grants to launch and accelerate their businesses.”

Irfan Malik, inQ Innovation Global CEO believes that the initiative will enrich the start-up ecosystem in both Australia and India.

“We have been working together with DFAT since March to devise a program that offers an all-inclusive scale-up ecosystem crucial for women-led tech start-ups, to accelerate and maximise Australia-India partnerships," he explained.

"Thanks to the pivotal support from the Telangana Government, and ecosystem partners, we have been able to curate this outcome-driven program.”

India has the largest pool of women-owned small enterprises in the world, with over 13.5 million. In order to filter this huge talent pool, applicants will be required to create video micro-pitches using Australian video tool Vloggi.

According to Justin Wastnage, CEO of Vloggi, “Due to the sheer size of the Indian market, the program needed a video submission tool able to handle thousands of video files simultaneously along with applicant data such as location and startup name, and we are delighted that Vloggi met their requirements.”

The program will host six women led start-ups from India and six from Australia, with entries including work in AI, blockchain, quantum computing, IoT, genomics, drones, robotics and big data.

Applications close at the end of September.