Creating and supporting high-growth entrepreneurs
Overview The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) is Wadhwani Foundation’s flagship initiative in India. It was co-founded in 2003 with IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad, BITS Pilani, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, with a mission to inspire, educate and support potential entrepreneurs to create millions of high-value jobs. NEN has since built institutional capacity and supported emerging entrepreneurs with an aim to develop a robust entrepreneurial eco-system in two ways - ‘creating’ new entrepreneurs and ‘supporting’ growing ones. While creation of new entrepreneurs is focused on inspiring and imparting knowledge to students, developing their skills and building networks to enable them to pursue entrepreneurial careers; supporting emerging entrepreneurs is pursued by providing them access to experts with relevant, high quality knowledge, skill-building programs, and mentoring, funding and hiring networks.
Inspiring, educating and supporting emerging entrepreneurs
Impact 600
4000
3200
Networked Institutes
Mentors
Faculty
2000
50000+
1500+
New Startups
Indirect jobs
New companies tracked each year
700, 000
12000+
Students Engaged Annually
Direct jobs
6300+ Entrepreneurs supported each year
India’s largest and most vibrant entrepreneurial community
Creating high-potential entrepreneurs NEN trains and certifies faculty to produce entrepreneurship educators & mentors who can design and run high-impact entrepreneurship programs on campus resulting in E Cells, campus companies, innovation centers and incubators. With access to experienced volunteers of 4500 entrepreneurs, professional experts, angels and venture capitalists, NEN facilitates on-ground consulting practice and faculty development courses. Faculty development programs, offline and online mentor programs, high quality content & curricula, experiential learning and connects through campus companies and E Cell workshops, innovation and incubation program support, and facilitating networking opportunities with coaches, incubators, entrepreneurs and domain experts forms the core of NEN’s on-campus entrepreneurship development support. NEN driven advocacy & recognition programs under its ‘Excellence in Entrepreneurship Ecosystem [E3]’ banner have played a key role in inspiring and motivating aspiring entrepreneurs. ‘Entrepreneurship Week India [E Week]’, the country’s largest & globally one of the biggest entrepreneurship awareness campaigns, ‘Tata First Dot’, India’s first National mentoring and recognition platform for student startups, and ‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’, a convergence of education leaders to fuel entrepreneurship are platforms creating the entrepreneurial buzz.
Building people, program and infrastructure capacity
Supporting growing entrepreneurs Building on its strong institutional capacity platform, NEN has extended its value propositions to growing entrepreneurs through ‘Entrepreneur Support’ services provided both face-to-face and via online modules. NEN works closely with entrepreneur educators, startup coaches and mentors by ‘enabling the enablers’ and supporting existing start-ups through access to strategic mentoring, skills-building programs, capital, technology, talent and expert networks. NEN offers myriad support services for entrepreneurs like Mentoring Connects (one-on-one meeting sessions with industry leaders and domain experts), Mentoring Clinics (in-depth discussions with entrepreneurs, expert panel and domain experts), Workshops (1 or 2 days duration, led by entrepreneurship educators and industry experts), Webinars (by established entrepreneurs and industry experts every fortnight, covering current trends) and the NEN-ANDE ‘Dream to Destination’ six month program (for women entrepreneurs who actively own and run businesses with potential for growth to help improve fundability, scalability and revenue). Thousands of practicing entrepreneurs and startups are also supported through NEN’s Entrepreneur Academy [www.nenonline.tv] that features hundreds of short videos from experienced entrepreneurs, angels, VCs along with dozens of longer video courses and blog posts. These videos are built around topics based on the life-cycle of a venture, aiming to help startups grow. NEN’s Entrepreneur Support programs, content and methodologies are continuously reviewed, refreshed and guided by active participation of educator and mentor panels.
Understanding and catering to entrepreneurial needs
Partners
Advancing entrepreneurship with partnership approach
Global Footprint Wadhwani Foundation’s global footprint (through multi-national launch of its NEN initiative) is in line with the objective of creating impact opportunities in emerging economies through entrepreneurship development as a key tool for sustainable job creation. With its technology platforms, scalable model and IP contextualized for emerging economies, NEN is leveraging its expansive network to bring together and enhance the fragmented entrepreneurship development efforts of government, academic institutions, entrepreneurs and associations in countries like Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia, and is now planning a foray into Africa. These emerging economies possess great entrepreneurial opportunities but are plagued by structural and institutional weaknesses. The global footprint of Wadhwani Foundation and NEN aims to bring together the right stakeholders in countries including the government, academic institutions, entrepreneurs and associations so as to enhance the resources and connectedness of the entrepreneurship eco-system. NEN’s technology platforms can be leveraged by aspiring and new entrepreneurs for harnessing the innovation and entrepreneurial potential of these nations.
Forging strong entrepreneurial partnerships in emerging economies
About Wadhwani Foundation Wadhwani Foundation’s primary mission is economic acceleration in emerging economies. To achieve this, the Foundation launched five high impact Initiatives in India, with the goal of creating and filling 25 million jobs through 2020.For job creation, the Foundation established the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) in 2003. NEN has built a strong network with 600 colleges, 4000 mentors and 3200 faculty in India that continue to inspire, educate and support emerging entrepreneurs. For job fulfillment, the Foundation has set up the Skills Development Network (SDN) which supports colleges, high schools and employer initiatives for entry level mid-skill jobs. SDN works with MHRD and State Govts. providing support to vocational education programs in 500+ high schools and 200+ UGC colleges and 100+ companies. SDN uses a technology platform for skilling by integrating online/in-class skills education through a digital/video curricula and pedagogy. Wadhwani Foundation’s Opportunity Network for Disabled (OND) aims at mainstreaming the educated disabled into sustainable, high quality corporate jobs. Research and Innovation Network (RIN) has created two model research institutes at IIT-Bombay and NCBS, Bangalore to accelerate ground-breaking research on local and global challenges. The Foundation’s Policy Research Centre provides data driven research inputs for informed policy actions in the area of economic growth, while the Wadhwani Chair on US-India policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a leading bi-partisan policy “think tank” in Washington, D.C, aims to accelerate India-U.S economic activities.
Accelerating economic development in emerging economies
National Entrepreneurship Network Subramanya Tech Park, Plot No. 3 & 3A, EOIZ Industrial Area, Whitefield, Bengaluru – 560066 www.nenglobal.org
www.wadhwani-foundation.org