Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Mr. Philip Green OAM, and Telangana Minister for Information Technology, Electronics, Communications, Industries and Commerce, Mr. Duddilla Sridhar Babu, announced a new partnership between the Australian Government and WE-Hub, Government of Telangana, today.

The new program, Start-X, is a 13-week pre-incubation program delivered by WE Hub to support women, marginalized communities and the LGBTIQ+ community in entrepreneurship.

Mr. Sridhar Babu said, “The growth of Telangana will be on the foundation of Women Empowerment. This is the belief with which we have a clear mandate & manifesto which focusses on the lifecycle of Women. From the Free Bus facility, to enabling Women to have financial freedom through our scheme, to the procurement of LPG at Rs. 500, we believe that if we do not solve the ground level issues women face, we cannot enable them to step outside to compete in the world. With our new MSME policy which is being conceptualised, we will ensure that more women can go from being Homepreneurs, Hobbypreneurs to Entrepreneurs who are creating jobs for themselves and their local communities. We will also ensure that there are legislative processes through which we can procure from Women Entrepreneurs in Government. With the support of the Australian High Commission, we rolled out an exclusive pre-incubation programme ‘Upsurge’ for 150 Women Entrepreneurs. With StartX, a new program funded by the Australian Government, we will ensure that WE HUB becomes a single platform for more women across the state become viable start-ups in the Social Space & International exports. We look forward to working with the Australian Government for more opportunities and support for our women entrepreneurs.”

Mr Green said “Australia was WE Hub’s first international partner, and we look forward to working with WE Hub and the Government of Telangana to deliver Start-X – a new initiative focused on instilling entrepreneurial skills in women, marginalized communities and the LGBTIQ+ community in the state”

Australian Consul General in Bengaluru, Ms Hilary McGeachy; Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan; and CEO WE-Hub, Ms. Deepthi Ravula were also in attendance.

Mr. Green also met with Chief Minister of Telangana, Mr. Anumula Revanth Reddy, on 29th January, 2024 as part of his first visit to Telangana.