USAID’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project, together with Villgro Innovations Foundation, a leading social enterprise incubator in India, has launched the Yash Entrepreneurs Program to catalyze innovative business models that will improve family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) outcomes for young people.

The virtual launch, co-hosted with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, kicked off the application process for the program, which will support 20 enterprises across India to invest in solutions to revolutionize how youth and adolescents access quality FP/RH services.

“Through the Yash Entrepreneurs Program…USAID will harness the capabilities of India’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem to test and scale innovative models to improve reproductive health and family planning outcomes for young people. USAID views this as a valuable platform to bring together investors and donors to support enterprises that show promise of creating sustainable health impacts,” said Dr. Amit Shah, Deputy Director, Health Office, USAID India, at the event.

The three-year program aims to shape an entrepreneurial ecosystem that can scale promising and cost-effective FP/RH innovations by leveraging partnerships with key public and private sector stakeholders. Each enterprise will receive funding, as well as technical assistance, mentoring, and incubation support from Villgro. The support will include skill-building on the designing, prototyping, and manufacturing of products such as sanitary napkins, digital marketing, financial dashboards, legal compliance, organizational culture, and leadership capability. A smaller number of promising startups will be provided with more intensive acceleration support, as well as additional funding.

Enterprises across India that have a “minimum viable prototype” and initial market traction are encouraged to apply here. The program particularly encourages women entrepreneurs and businesses with gender-inclusive products and services. Applications will be accepted until May 15, 2022.

The complete recording of the event is available here. You can learn more about USAID’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project here.