Britannia Marie Gold My Startup Contest 3.0 hosts Startup Stalwarts as Jury

With a vision of positively influencing the burgeoning & aspiring ‘Womenpreneurs’ of India, Britannia is set to host its third season finale of the renowned ‘Britannia Marie Gold My Startup Contest’. The much anticipated contest concluded its jury round recently. Since 2019, the Britannia Marie Gold My Startup contest has been a foundation for those Indian homemakers that have the drive and ambition to begin their entrepreneurial journey, become financially independent and transform themselves into job creators.

This initiative is an ode to all the 3.8 million + women that have participated over the last three years. In an effort to pursue these aspirational homemakers’ dreams, the brand brought on board a host of jury members, who have braved the world to start their own start-up journey from scratch. After weeks of deliberation, the Top 50 participants presented their business ideas to an esteemed jury panel comprising leading ‘Womenprenuers’ along with eminent members of the Indian media. This diverse jury had to shortlist the top 10 finalists from the vast participation received this year, based on the uniqueness of the business idea and innovation of thought.

Speaking on the conclusion of the jury round, Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Britannia Industries Limited said, “Britannia Marie Gold has had a legacy of being the homemaker’s teatime companion and through this initiative, we strive to create a more meaningful connection with them. Despite the uncertainty faced by us all in the past two years, we’re proud to witness such an overwhelming response from our consumers. We are grateful to host such an esteemed jury panel comprising some of the most prominent ‘Womenpreneurs’ and media personalities of India that will be finalising our 10 winners this season. These winners will avail the opportunity to begin their entrepreneurial ventures. We have seen some wonderful business ideas and look forward to announcing the results soon.”

The Britannia Marie Gold My Startup contest season 3 went live in September 2021 and has received an overwhelming response of more than 1.3 million entries, from homemakers across India, with the largest number of entries from Maharashtra at 20 percent followed by Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Here is what the jury had to say of their experience:

“I am delighted that this wonderful platform created by Britannia has encouraged women from the smallest towns of India to come forward and say, 'Main bhi kuch karna chahti hoon'. As a writer who is constantly in search of stories, I find this truly inspirational,” said Rashmi Bansal bestselling author & entrepreneur

Renu Shah, Founder of Shakti – The Empathy Project (STEP), comments “Being an entrepreneur and running an incubation program for other women entrepreneurs in the social impact segment, I have been in total alignment with the concept right from the start. I was excited and humbled to be a part of a jury that got to witness such burgeoning talent and creative start-up ideas that women in our country have. I’d like to congratulate Britannia to have created a platform for women to encourage them to share their business ideas, in their transformation from homemakers to homepreneurs.”

“I am grateful to witness the journey of the women entrepreneurs across India via Britannia. We live in unprecedented times and women entrepreneurs are accelerating the pace of positive change. The program is a step in the right direction,” said Sairee Chahal, Founder SHEROES and Mahila Money.

“Truly humbled to witness and get to know some of the most amazing and creative start-up ideas. It was inspiring to meet such innovative and passionate women. Thank you, Britannia, for creating such a holistic and voracious platform to encourage more and more women to take the lead and nurture strong business ideas, helping them to accelerate and realise their dream,” said Aakanksha Bhargava, CEO of PM Relocations

Commenting on her experience post the jury round, Ruchika Bhuwalka, Managing Director and Co-Founder Millet Amma said, “Thank you Britannia, for the brilliant initiative of providing wings to these gritty women. Grateful for the honour and privilege of going through the pitch of these inspiring ladies and, it was not an easy decision. Kudos to all the participants!”

Latha Chandramouli, Founder & CEO, The Light Up Store, commented, “It was my pleasure be a part of the Marie Gold My Start Up contest. I personally witnessed  many women stepping up to support the family during COVID-19 as many entrepreneurs were born during this time. It was a refreshing experience to witness women from various walks of life present their business idea. As an entrepreneur, I was able to relate to their passion and dreams and was inspired too. I thank Britannia for encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship”

“It's wonderful to be associated with women empowerment in any way. But when the efforts are so thoughtfully focused on financial inclusion through supporting entrepreneurship as in the case of Britannia's Marie Gold My Startup Contest Season 3 #KyunkiBahutKuchHaiKarna as part of the jury one is privileged indeed. Wishing all the contestants the very best,” said Piya Bahadur, CEO and Founder MeraBills.

After two years of exceptionally high entries, the brand aims to not only make these 10 women financially ready for their journey, but also turn them into active contributors to India’s economy. This year along with funding, the initiative will provide participants with mentorship, and necessary training with Google Digital Skilling to embark on their Startup journey.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the top 10 winners soon.