12th November 2025
Natarajan Empowerment Foundation is joining hands with IIM Mumbai to launch the Leadership Accelerator Program, a transformative initiative designed specifically for mid-career women professionals ready to step into leadership roles.
What makes this program special? It’s not just another course. We’re bringing together the best of both worlds: rigorous academic learning from IIM Mumbai’s renowned faculty and real-world wisdom from accomplished women CXOs who’ve walked the path. Participants will experience immersive residential sessions on campus—a chance to step away, reflect deeply, collaborate with peers, and truly transform their leadership journey.
The goal is simple yet powerful: to equip women professionals with the skills, confidence, and networks they need to break through barriers and lead with impact. Because when women rise into leadership, everyone benefits—organisations thrive, communities flourish, and we move closer to building a truly inclusive and Viksit India.
October 16th marked the exciting launch of Success with Scale – a program launched in collaboration between Natarajan Empowerment Foundation and TiE Pune Women. Created to help women founders scale their businesses with confidence and clarity, the launch event brought together incredible women entrepreneurs, each bringing bold ideas, inspiring stories, and the courage to dream bigger. Their enthusiasm and engagement reminded us exactly why this program exists – women founders are hungry for mentorship that helps them build credible, scalable, and sustainable businesses.
NEF Mission Director, Avani Shroff shared the program structure and Dr. Ganesh Natarajan conducted an inspiring session on Entrepreneurship that set the perfect tone. Some of our esteemed mentors – Ashok Bildikar, Dr. Vishwas Mahajan, Advait Kurlekar, Narendra Goidani and Smita Yedekar were present at the launch.
The 19th edition of Women Prowess hosted by Hope Foundation and Research Centre in collaboration with GTT Foundation & Rotary Club of Pune Riverside was held on 22nd July 2025. Our Founders, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan and Dr. Uma Ganesh, have been instrumental in the success of this event. Their strategic direction has led to this event becoming a powerful movement — one that has consistently championed women-led innovation and societal transformation. This year’s theme, “Reimagining India: From Passion to Success,” brings together an extraordinary panel featuring changemakers from media, healthcare, branding, entrepreneurship, and social impact. The panelists include Sunanda Mehta – Senior Journalist & Author, Dr. Shona Nag – Renowned Oncologist, Kiran Grewal – CEO, Garry N Sun Organics and Sulajja Firodia Motwani– Founder & CEO, Kinetic Green.
NEF is proud to share that our co-founder Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, together with poet and educator Urmi Rumi, has co-authored Viksit India – a unique book that blends vision and verse to reimagine India’s development journey. Moving beyond statistics, the book captures the aspirations and lived realities of citizens through poetic storytelling and grounded reflection, offering both inspiration and a call to action for a more inclusive, human-centred pathway to Viksit Bharat
NEF is proud to join hands with TiE Pune as the Knowledge Partner for the TiE Women Global Pitch Competition. This platform goes beyond pitching. It is a launchpad for women entrepreneurs to access mentorship, networks, and funding opportunities that can accelerate their journey.
At NEF, we believe that empowerment is about providing women with the right tools, guidance, and visibility to realise their potential. Through this partnership, we are committed to supporting women founders with knowledge-driven pathways to growth, while also creating a strong community of inclusive leaders.
Together with TiE Pune, we aim to break barriers, create opportunities, and build a future where women entrepreneurs lead India’s progress toward Viksit Bharat.
In her column for The Financial Express, our co-founder Dr. Uma Ganesh highlights how India’s progress in financial inclusion can be deepened through digital and AI-led solutions tailored for rural communities. She explores the need for voice-enabled systems, multilingual models, offline-first apps, and innovative credit assessments to truly empower the underserved at the grassroots.
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