Reports

Visakhapatnam, known as Vizag, is a vibrant startup hotspot in India. With its stunning beaches, bustling port, and rich cultural heritage, the city has seen a surge in entrepreneurial activity. Vizag's startup scene spans diverse industries like technology, healthcare, education, tourism, and renewable energy. Supported by a strategic location, robust infrastructure, and government initiatives, Vizag provides an ideal environment for startups to thrive. Incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces further bolster the ecosystem, offering valuable support and resources. With increased investor interest, startups in Vizag have gained access to funding for growth and innovation.

The study explores learnings, evidence, and recommendations on creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for rural women, emanating from gender-forward initiatives deployed by the Powering Livelihoods (PL) programme, to mainstream women in Distributed renewable energy (DRE)-powered livelihoods.

Powering Livelihoods is a USD 3 million (INR 21 crores) initiative by CEEW and Villgro to mainstream clean energy-based solutions in India’s rural economy. It provides capital, technical, and sectoral growth support to help social enterprises deploy many clean energy-based livelihood solutions in a gender-inclusive manner.

This report documents the learnings and evidence from the successes and failures that guide in scaling up sustainable livelihoods for women. It includes comprehensive learnings and recommendations from the various women mainstreaming activities conducted as part of the programme. The resulting learnings create a repository of the tools used and share the knowledge generated. It also incorporates sample success stories and evidence-based approaches. While not exhaustive, it could be used as a repository of field-tested tools and evidence-based practices to guide the progress and implementation of gender-inclusive programmes in the DRE-Livelihood sector.

ā hub (Andhra University Incubation Council) is a Section 8 company, located in the North campus ofAndhra University, Visakhapatnam. The incubation center is successfully operating with its core values –Aspire, Associate and Achieve, and runs with a goal of becoming India’s largest integrated multi-disciplinary Incubation center spanning over 2.0 Lakh sq. ft by fostering vibrant and sustainableenvironment for entrepreneurship. ā hub services are specifically designed to assist aspiring entrepreneurs in overcoming common challengesassociated with running a startup by providing a comprehensive range of resources, including workspace,mentoring, funding support, to facilitate the growth and success of their businesses.