Ellerston Capital Gets Behind Indian Women Entrepreneurs for Virangana 2020
In recognition of the significant role the Indian market is expected to play in Australia’s economic future, Ellerston Capital have come on board as a foundation sponsor for the 2020 iteration of the successful Virangana Project.
In 2018, The Virangana Project supported a cohort of some of India’s most innovative female entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs were mentored by Australian corporate advisory team CEO Strategic and were flown to Sydney in October 2018 to participate in Australia’s first ever Bollywood-style Pitch Fest, which was held in conjunction with Sydney’s Spark Festival.
Executive Chairman of Ellerston Capital, Ashok Jacob, is one of Australia’s leading proponents of Australia/Indian business relations. As a foundation sponsor for Virangana 2020, Ellerston Capital will also be providing a cash prize for the most innovative business at the next pitch event, which is scheduled to be held in Sydney in August 2020, to coincide with Indian Independence Day.
Mary Manning, Portfolio Manager of the Ellerston Capital India Fund, on behalf of Ellerston Capital, said that “India is rapidly growing as a global economic powerhouse and women entrepreneurs are playing a large role in that growth. But, as in any country, women entrepreneurs still face an uphill climb when it comes to securing the capital they need to scale their businesses.
We see initiatives like The Virangana Project as an ideal vehicle for identifying outstanding female candidates and empowering them through ongoing mentorship and access to Australian investment capital.”
Manning added that “India has seen a number of successful women-led businesses. We are expecting a high level of innovation coming from our 2020 candidates, just as we saw in the 2018 cohort.”
On behalf of CEO Strategic, the team that founded the project, Chairman Daniel Fah commented, “When we first started the project, we were overwhelmed by both the quality of applications we received, as well as the support we received from the Australian corporate and academic sectors. And we are expecting Virangana 2020 to be bigger and better than ever.”
Fah added, “We are absolutely thrilled to have such a highly regarded firm as Ellerston Capital on board as a foundation sponsor, and we are particularly pleased to have the support of Mary Manning. She is a strong advocate for empowering women entrepreneurs, and her trading experience with India will help to ensure we deliver an exciting program for investors in 2020.”
About Virangana Project
Virangana Project is a not-for-profit initiative set up to bridge the gap between the Australian & Indian women’s start-up communities. Learn more at https://www.viranganaproject.com
