Opportunities for women in India
Fellowships, free mentoring, accelerators and pitch programmes open to women in India, with deadlines and what each one gives you.
Several of these are global programmes that accept Indian applicants, and a few are built specifically for founders in India and the wider region.
The pitch programme listed under fellowships runs across 61 chapters and awards equity-free cash — worth knowing about if you are raising and do not want to give anything away for it.
Jobs
1 entry
Impactpool — UN, NGO and international organisation jobs impactpool.org
Roles at the UN, the World Bank, the EU institutions and international NGOs. Use the country filter on their search page to narrow it to where you are. Also runs career coaching and a fellowship for getting into the sector, which is the harder part. These jobs are almost impossible to find on ordinary job boards.
Speaking calls
2 entries
TED — nominate a speaker ted.com
TED searches year-round and says plainly: if you know someone who belongs on that stage, or if you belong there yourself, tell them. Free, always open, and you can nominate yourself or another woman.
TEDx events directory ted.com
Every upcoming TEDx event worldwide, filterable by country, including TEDxWomen events. Each one is organised locally and runs its own speaker call — find the ones near you and approach the organiser directly.
Mentoring
5 entries
Jessica Huns — free one-to-one coaching hunsagency.com
Coaching on the Seasons method: name the exact thing you want, decide what a season of chasing it will cost, and run it. Free, a small number of places at a time. Board certified through the NBHWC.
MicroMentor micromentor.org
Free one-to-one business mentoring from volunteers who have built companies themselves. Run by Mercy Corps, open worldwide. They say plainly that they give advice, not money.
Lean In Circles leanin.org
Small peer groups that meet regularly, with research-backed material to work through. Free. Join one near you or start your own. Lean In reports that Circle members get promotions and raises at twice the rate of the general population.
Mentor Her mentorher.global
A six-week online programme, one hour a week with a matched mentor, plus workbooks and workshops. Paid — but more than a third of mentees on each round are matched free through their scholarship places, so ask before you assume you cannot afford it.
Cherie Blair Foundation — Mentoring Programme cherieblairfoundation.org
Free one-to-one online mentoring with an experienced business mentor.
Fellowships & programmes
6 entries
Vital Voices Global Fellowship vitalvoices.org
Multi-year fellowship: leadership development, network, and venture support.
Vital Voices VV Venture — AI for Impact vitalvoices.org
Fully funded programme for women social entrepreneurs working with AI.
Echoing Green Fellowship echoinggreen.org
Seed funding and two years of leadership development for people at the very start of a social venture — education, climate, human rights, health. Thirty-five years of it. Fellows stay in the community for life.
Global Good Fund Fellowship globalgoodfund.org
Twelve months, worldwide. A dedicated executive coach, a C-suite business mentor, and USD 10,000 to spend on your own leadership development rather than on the business. Unusual, and the point.
Aspen New Voices Fellowship aspenglobalinnovators.org
A year of world-class media, communication and advocacy training for experts who are locally rooted but not yet heard — op-eds, interviews, platforms. Nearly 200 fellows so far from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Gulf is not named, so check eligibility before you plan around it.
Cherie Blair Foundation — Road to Leadership cherieblairfoundation.org
Structured programme for women growing their business and leadership.
Accelerators & incubators
2 entries
Antler antler.co
Founder programmes in Dubai and Riyadh, plus London, Bangalore and three US cities. It takes people pre-idea and pre-team — co-founder matching, coaching and early-stage investment. One of the few doors open before you have a company at all.
MassChallenge masschallenge.org
A global accelerator network running since 2009, across healthcare and life sciences, security, food systems, climate and financial systems. What it offers is access — to corporates, customers, regulators and funders — more than money.
Scholarships & training
1 entry
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women goldmansachs.com
Free online business education, open worldwide, in English, French, Hindi, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish. More than 320,000 entrepreneurs across 150+ countries since 2008. There is also in-person teaching in India, and a route to credit through the IFC.
More for India
Every link on this page was opened and checked by hand. Last reviewed 04 October 2026.