A statewide cohort with national backing

WE Hub, Telangana’s flagship platform for women entrepreneurs, has rolled out its first cohort under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) women acceleration programme. Backed by the World Bank and supported by the Union Ministry of MSME, the initiative targets women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with structured assistance designed to improve competitiveness and growth.

The inaugural cohort comprises 45 enterprises drawn from 13 districts. Over a two-year period ending March 2027, participants will receive acceleration services intended to expand their market presence, build managerial capacity, and increase revenues.

How participants were chosen

  • Pool of applicants: The cohort was selected from 300 enterprises identified over two years of outreach.
  • District outreach: WE Hub conducted boot camps across multiple districts to surface candidates and assess readiness.
  • Screening priorities: Selection focused on growth potential, sector fit, and the ability to benefit from structured market and finance linkages.

What the programme offers

Participants will receive a bundle of support that combines capability building with market and finance access:

  • Capacity building: Training on operations, compliance, digital tools, and growth planning.
  • Sector-specific mentorship: One-on-one guidance from domain experts aligned to each enterprise’s needs.
  • Financial linkages: Support in preparing for and connecting to credit, grants, and investment.
  • Market access: Assistance with product positioning, onboarding to e-commerce platforms, and B2B/B2C connections.
  • Exposure and networks: Exposure visits to successful enterprises and networking with buyers, mentors, and ecosystem enablers.

Government push and ecosystem context

WE Hub operates under the Government of Telangana with a mandate to increase the number and scale of women-owned businesses. The RAMP Women Acceleration Programme builds on this mission by anchoring state-level support in a national framework with multilateral backing. The Telangana Commissionerate of Industries has signaled alignment with the effort, highlighting MSMEs as a growth lever and women entrepreneurs as a key constituency.

Nationally, RAMP aims to strengthen MSME performance through better access to markets, finance, technology, and advisory services. Telangana’s adoption of a women-focused acceleration track under RAMP positions the state to test targeted interventions—particularly useful for addressing the barriers women entrepreneurs often face in credit access, formalization, and market entry.

Potential impact for Telangana’s MSMEs

  • Growth readiness: Structured training and mentorship can help enterprises move from informal or early-stage operations to more formal, scalable models.
  • Credit mobilization: By preparing enterprises for financial diligence, the programme could improve loan eligibility and reduce the credit gap for women founders.
  • Market diversification: Access to e-commerce and B2B networks opens new geographies and customer segments, reducing dependence on local or seasonal demand.
  • Productivity and compliance: Improved processes, digital adoption, and regulatory awareness are likely to raise productivity and reduce risk.
  • District-level diffusion: With participants drawn from 13 districts, the programme can seed entrepreneurial networks and peer learning beyond Hyderabad.

Stakeholder perspectives

Officials involved in the rollout emphasized the potential of Telangana’s women-led MSMEs and the role of structured support in unlocking growth. WE Hub leadership framed the cohort as a significant step in strengthening the state’s ecosystem for women entrepreneurs through a focused, multi-year acceleration pathway.

What’s next

  • Two-year acceleration: The cohort will undergo continuous capacity building, mentorship, and market linkage activities until March 2027.
  • Outcome tracking: Success will be gauged through indicators such as revenue growth, number of new customers and markets, credit mobilized, and jobs sustained or created.
  • Potential replication: Insights from the cohort could inform future cohorts or sector-specific tracks, depending on outcomes and demand.

How success can be measured

  • Business metrics: Year-on-year revenue growth, profitability, and export or out-of-state sales.
  • Market access: Number and quality of B2B contracts, e-commerce conversions, and new distribution channels.
  • Finance: Loans sanctioned, investment raised, and improved credit profiles.
  • Capability gains: Adoption of digital tools, compliance milestones reached, and process improvements.
  • Ecosystem effects: Partnerships formed, mentor networks expanded, and spillovers to non-participating enterprises in the same districts.

Why it matters

  • Inclusive growth: Women-led MSMEs often face compounded barriers in finance and markets; targeted acceleration can close gaps and broaden participation in the formal economy.
  • State competitiveness: Strengthening MSME performance contributes to job creation, value addition, and resilience across Telangana’s districts.
  • Policy alignment: The programme advances state MSME policy objectives while leveraging national and multilateral support, improving the odds of sustainable impact.
  • Digital and market integration: Practical support for e-commerce and B2B linkages helps enterprises adapt to shifting buyer behaviors and supply chains.

Bottom line

By combining state-led incubation with national and World Bank-backed resources, Telangana’s first RAMP cohort offers a structured path for 45 women-led MSMEs to scale. The next two years will test how targeted acceleration—rooted in finance, markets, and mentorship—can translate potential into measurable growth across the state.