Gates Foundation India

Media Release - Reliance Foundation and Gates Foundation advance scalable solutions for one million women; announce first-round winners of ‘SheConnects Digital Accelerator: India’ Round Two Funding Call Opens for Indian non-profits - Six grantees selected in the first round will reach nearly one million women over 15 – 18 months with scalable digital solutions spanning health, livelihoods, and public education to reduce the gender digital divide. - Round 2 ‘Request for Applications’ is open, inviting Indian non-profits to apply for funding of up to INR 4.2 crore to scale high-impact, replication-ready digital solutions New Delhi, July 16, 2026: The SheConnects Digital Accelerator a joint initiative of Reliance Foundation and Gates Foundation, marked two major milestones in India with the announcement of the six non-profit organisations selected in Round 1, who will together reach nearly one million women, and the launch Request for Applications for the next round of grants. The announcements were made in Delhi on Wednesday, bringing key stakeholders from government, academia, philanthropic, civil society, and technology ecosystems. The SheConnects Digital Accelerator: India, aims to advance women’s digital inclusion by scaling proven, high-impact solutions that enable women and girls to participate fully in the digital world, improving their lives and livelihoods. The Accelerator aims to catalyse innovative partnerships, strengthen evidence on what works, foster south-to-south learning, and help shape a more inclusive digital ecosystem. GSMA Foundation will support selected awardees in India with capacity-building bootcamps and peer-to-peer learning, alongside technical support to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of the digital solutions and programmes that awardees are creating for women. Speaking at the event, Ms Deepthi Reddy, Chief – Women Empowerment, Reliance Foundation, detailed the Accelerator's vision for India and officially announced the opening of Round 2. "Empowering women with tools and confidence to participate fully in the digital world is essential to a more equitable future. When empowered women are at the centre, they drive more than their own journey and catalyse transformation in society. At Reliance Foundation, it has been our long-standing commitment to identify and encourage scale-up of transformative solutions. We are excited to welcome the first cohort of our valuable partners who bring unique ideas for driving this mission forward together," she said. Ms Saachi Bhalla, Deputy Director – Gender Equality, Gates Foundation, added perspectives from the Gates Foundation. “The SheConnects Digital Accelerator represents an important opportunity for non-profit organizations to develop and scale solutions that advance women’s meaningful digital inclusion, while generating practical evidence that can inform efforts across India and the Global South. Ultimately, the success of digital transformation will not be measured by the sophistication of our technologies, but by whether they improve people’s lives. Through the SheConnects Digital Accelerator, we have an opportunity to ensure that innovation is both inclusive and impactful,” she said. Following a rigorous evaluation process, six non-profit organizations were selected for the inaugural round of grants with a collective commitment of INR 25.84 crore for this round, to deploy evidence-based digital solutions across India. In total, the Round 1 portfolio is projected to impact nearly one million individuals.