India Women's Facebook Community gets 50k USD funding

Adventure Women India (AWI), an Indian Facebook community that started as a small effort by adventure seeker web content writer turned Homemaker Minal Mathur and television journalist Anjilee Istwal to connect women, has announced that it has been chosen by Facebook to partner in its Community Accelerator Program. The driving vision for AWI is to create a safe and inclusive community for women seeking adventure and travel. This announcement by Facebook marks 2 years since the community was created on 8 October, 2019.

The co-founder of the community, Minal Mathur, mother of two children, after spending years in content writing and contributing to the developmental sector with NGOs, is excited about this new chapter of her community. While sharing her excitement about the future Minal said, “Getting Chosen for FB Accelerator program was a pleasant surprise for us. It was unbelievable. But getting identified by FB for our community makes us believe that we have done something impactful. We have touched and influenced many lives for good. FB call us ‘The Game Changers’. It makes me feel thrilled and excited. I feel all the more responsible towards AWI members. FB, with this program gives us an opportunity to dream high and reach more women, thus bringing an positive impact to their lives. That will be my payback to the society.”

The FB accelerator program might not have been the goal of the founders but it will help propagate their original idea.  

Anjilee Istwal, co-founder of AWI, has worked in television news industry for last 20 years and is a popular television news anchor and reporter with national channel NDTV. Anjilee said, “In AWI, women share their travel experiences, seek advice about destinations from those who had already been there and also get tips on safety. This community became a safe and trusted place to find a travel partner who shared same goal or destination. It empowered women to step out from their traditional ‘safe zones’ of family and friends and to seek out connections with other women. We are truly excited that FB has recognized our community amongst scores of other applicants and this is a win for all our community members.” 

In this 8 month long program the founding members will receive training to learn skills to lead effective teams, engage members in projects that further community goals, manage volunteers, and more. They will also learn best practices for community income generation and options for organizational structures that help maximize community impact.

Facebook will work with a non-profit Global Giving to fund participants’ project plans & to help set them up for success in the program. Selected participants will each receive up to $50k USD for their participation in the program and to fund their community initiatives. 

The founders believe that this push by FB and the enthusiasm of the members is transforming AWI from an idea into a movement.