Aspire 

Aspire, our concept-stage program run in person over 9 weeks, began in the cities of Dehradun with 15 entrepreneurs, Trivandrum with 10 entrepreneurs, and Bangalore with 5 entrepreneurs. In a minor setback, Aspire programs planned for the cities of Kochi, Kolkata, and Mumbai had to be called off. This has brought forth a lot of learnings on how we work with cities and provide what they need.

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Aspire Beyond

Aspire Beyond, our 9-month intensive program for early-stage entrepreneurs, is in its final leg and will conclude in mid-October as you read this. In the last three months, in addition to the regular check-in calls program guides hold with all seven entrepreneurs, we held a mock pitch session with our experienced partner, who runs similar redemptive entrepreneurship programs elsewhere in the world. Another highlight was a Mental/Emotional Health virtual workshop with a certified counselor. Aspire Beyond is now planning recruitment for its second cohort that will launch early in 2027

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Studio

The Studio, our human-centered design thinking wing, has worked with all seven Aspire Beyond cohort entrepreneurs to help them create their Guiding Star, which defines the social impact of their ventures. The entrepreneurs will be sharing this social impact during the pitch event at their October Graduation. The Studio has also been co-planning an Aspire program focused on ventures exclusively in the anti-trafficking space. Also, watch out for Studio’s webpage refresh and contact us to receive Studio’s newsletter that focuses exclusively on their work. 

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Formation

• Our Formation stream held two 2-day labs on entrepreneurs’ holistic formation in the cities of Bangalore and Mumbai, respectively, with strong participant engagement. We are planning the next lab in Kolkata in late October. The Formation stream has also been working with the Aspire Beyond cohort of entrepreneurs on its seven themes (time, money, community, power, decision-making, and imagination); six have been completed, and the last will be conducted during their graduation event in October.
  
  A participant from the Mumbai lab said, “The Mumbai lab was very insightful, and Mentors shared their vulnerabilities and helped us to connect more closely with them. It was very informative and helped us take small but strong action steps to build our business” 

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Partnership Development

• Our partnership development team in the US attended a conference that sparked new awareness and connections, and submitted a grant proposal for continued partnership. The team also facilitated meetings between a JoyCorps entrepreneur and partners who want to support his venture. Most of our Board members are visiting us in India in November, and the team is looking forward to it. Our entire team is meeting in early November for our annual all-team retreat to celebrate the year and look forward to the coming year.