The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) in partnership with the Indian School of Business (ISB) celebrated the graduation of the 36 women of the 44th class of the 10,000 Women programme in India.  

 

10,000 Women is a global initiative providing 10,000 underserved women entrepreneurs with a business and management education, sponsored by Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation.  In India, Goldman Sachs partnered with ISB to deliver the 10,000 Women programme in 13 cities – Agra, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Noida and Pune.  Over 1,300 Indian women entrepreneurs hailing from 25 cities across the country have been trained since the inception of the programme in 2008.

 

The programme included 150 hours of classroom instruction on topics such as business planning, marketing, finance, accounting and human resource management.  Programme instruction consisted of lectures by faculty and successful entrepreneurs, local case studies, and panel discussions. The ISB continues to engage with students through various alumni engagement activities such as refresher courses and workshops, and monitor their progress up to 30 months (2.5 years) after completing the course. 

 

"In addition to helping me to scale-up my business substantially, the programme has been a motivating force for me to empower other women and give back to the society in my own way,” said Varsha Mahendra, a successful graduate of the programme.  “Along with employing more women in my business, I am also supporting their family members to learn new skills that will improve their livelihood," she added.

 

10,000 Women was founded on research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the World Bank and others which suggests that such an investment can have a significant impact on GDP growth.  Graduates from the first 16 classes of 10,000 Women in India were successful in growing their businesses and 75% reported an increase in revenues while 58% reported adding new jobs, within 18 months of graduation.