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JoyCorps Program Updates
Aspire and Aspire Beyond, January - March 2026
1. What were the top 3 highlights or milestones from your program this quarter?
JoyCorps Aspire
A. New Facilitators and new cities: What we are grateful for are the men and women who were willing to come for the training and with the heart to serve entrepreneurs. We had participants from Dehradun, Delhi, Patna, Purnea, Mumbai and Kathmandu, which was amazing. We had 2 new cities - Bangalore and Trivandrum, that was not in our plan, but we found good facilitators who could launch for us in these cities too.
B. Gender: We have two women among the five new facilitators. Kochi and Trivandrum now have women facilitators, making Kerala a state led by women this year, if all goes to plan. Mumbai had an all-male cohort in 2025; however, with a woman facilitator now in place, there are plans to have an all-women cohort for Aspire.
C. Consent on photography: Making our value of taking consent seriously and allowing those who interact with us the right to choose on privacy is a milestone for the team. We hope that this allows us to ensure that we are able to honour the privacy decision of our entrepreneurs, and our partners.
JoyCorps Aspire Beyond
A. Aspire Beyond Takes Off: We were able to launch our first ever Aspire Beyond. This is a 9-month program which started with an orientation week from Jan 18 - 24, 2026. We had 7 entrepreneurs from 5 different cities of India and during the orientation week we focussed on venture building, social impact and personal formation.
B. Coaches alongside entrepreneurs: Again, for the first time we were able to invite certified coaches to journey together with the entrepreneurs. We see great value in having coaching as part of the program given their experience and expertise, and the structure that helps the entrepreneur evaluate and come up with possible next steps for whatever situation they are facing.
C. From slow start to steady growth: We are so proud of our entrepreneurs who are staying the course and not getting swayed. Some of them had a slow start without many clients but they've presevered and their client reach is slowly expanding.
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2. Were there any major launches, events, or partnerships you would like to share?
JoyCorps Aspire
A. New City Launch - Purnea: We launched JoyCorps Aspire in this new city on January 25, 2026. The program is facilitated for a group of six entrepreneurs with business ideas such as a bakery, boutique, mobile repairing, and—marking a first for Aspire—pig farming.
B. Facilitator Training: Our 2026 facilitator training was organised on March 12-13 in Delhi. We had 16 participants from 8 cities. We shortlisted 6 facilitators for this year and 4 people as administrators in their own cities with the potential to become facilitators in 2027.
C. Aspire Ignite: With Nepal’s Aspire Ignite program that began in November 2025, we began the 4 online sessions this January with the cohort. There is much learning from the design that we need to inculcate in our programs in large cities. We have the pitch planned for May 14 in Kathmandu and are looking forward to it.
D. Partnership: We have potential institutional partnerships with 2 organisations for the Aspire program. This won’t be city-based but institution-based, where they would bring the entrepreneur together. This new model that we are exploring has much potential to help organisations.
JoyCorps Aspire Beyond
A. Expanding Horizons with Honey: One of our entrepreneurs was able to expand his client reach, selling honey from Kerala to the North East. In addition he was also able to collaborate with a fellow entrepreneur to sell his honey.
B. The Power of Perseverance: Another entrepreneur from Patna, Bihar was able to see a rise in customers. Her patience and persistence in marketing and valuing each customer is now bringing in results.
3. What is one update you are most proud of from this quarter?
JoyCorps Aspire
The selection of facilitators for the training. We changed it from random sign-ups to inviting people who are recommended by trusted partners and friends. We are glad that the 16 who came were those who knew why and what they were in Delhi for, and had a heart for the cities they are from. The camaraderie among them was a sight to see, and from what we hear, many have made new friends.
JoyCorps Aspire Beyond
One update that I'm most proud of revolves around 3 of our entrepreneurs who had a very slow start to their venture for various reasons - lack of capital, low to zero clients, early stages of venture, etc. One of the entrepreneurs is now seeing a rise in her customers, another is in the process of registering his venture and acquiring some machinery, and the third entrepreneur is seeing some open doors before him.