Sequoia Spark Fellowship for Female Founders is now accepting applications

• ByStartupStory     |    August 26, 2022

Through the Sequoia Spark fellowship program, Sequoia will provide $100,000 in equity-free funding and immersive mentorship to budding women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia. Sequoia Capital announced in an official announcement on August 25 that applications for Spark 02 are now available for female founders and entrepreneurs.

The Sequoia Spark fellowship program – Spark 1, which began in December 2021 – includes 15 early firms led by 20 female founders from India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Dubai working in FinTech, SaaS, EdTech, D2C, and Web3.

With this grant, Sequoia will empower ambitious women entrepreneurs in India and Southeast Asia with a $100,000 equity-free grant and comprehensive mentorship through the Sequoia Spark fellowship program. Spark 1 will continue to meet until the end of the year, and key members of the VC ecosystem, including Accel, Alpha JWC, Beenext, East Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Venturra Capital, Vertex Ventures, and Whiteboard Capital, have already partnered with these ambitious women.

Sequoia reports that 53% of Spark 1 firms have obtained seed and Series A rounds totaling $34 million since the initiative’s inception in January 2022. Sequoia’s Spark 2 cohort aims to reach and support missionary female founders who are out to make an impact and solve hard challenges in industries like SaaS, fintech, sustainability, climate tech, consumer tech, Web3, health tech, and others.

Here are a few details about Spark 02:

Spark 02 will run for four months and will provide mentorship and support to early-stage female entrepreneurs for them to secure capital through seed and series A rounds and build their firms.

Content and program:

The program, according to Sequoia, will comprise a series of curated in-person & online workshops, AMAs, and masterclasses on crucial areas of company creation such as brand building, fundraising, and recruiting the initial set of consumers. Through in-person mixers, meetups, and events, applicants will also have the opportunity to meet and network with members of the broader startup community, industry leaders, and professionals.

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