Overview
The WomenLeaders India Fellowship powered by Reliance Foundation invests in extraordinary women leaders to drive an ambitious, urgent agenda for women’s leadership in India and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Launched in 2022 and implemented together with technical partner Vital Voices Global Partnership, the Fellowship has since empowered 100 exceptional Indian women leaders in the social sector with the knowledge, skills, and network necessary to spearhead transformational changes in society. Through leadership development workshops, mentorship opportunities, and industry exposure, the programme helps social sector leaders and social entrepreneurs to refine their vision, build their capacity, and accelerate their impact. Six months after graduating, the large majority had grown their leadership confidence, strengthened their work, made concrete changes to their organisations, and grown their SDG projects.
In 2026–2027 (Cohort 3), the Fellowship aims to support another 50 Indian women leaders who are addressing urgent economic and social issues across four key thematic areas:
- Women’s Empowerment & Economic Agency — advancing gender equality, economic mobility, leadership, and digital inclusion for women and girls.
- Children’s Well-Being & Foundational Learning — supporting early learning, health, nutrition, protection, and foundational outcomes for children.
- Youth Development, Education & Skills for the Future — enabling future-ready skills, employability, entrepreneurship, and leadership pathways for young people.
- Agriculture, Rural Livelihoods & Climate-Resilient Communities — promoting climate-smart agriculture, rural livelihoods, technology-enabled solutions, and improved market access for farmers and rural communities.
Programme Kickoff: February 2027 (in-person convening, Mumbai, India)
Format: Virtual and in-person
Cost: None (fully funded)
Apply by: 11 November 2026 (11:59 PM IST)
The Fellowship is looking for committed women leaders who can devote 6–8 hours per month to the 10-month programme and who hold the authority to make critical decisions for their initiative, organisation, or business. Ideal applicants are eager to build new skills and leadership capacity, have an SDG or social-impact project to refine over the course of the Fellowship, are willing to track their progress with Reliance Foundation and Vital Voices for up to 24 months after it closes, and are keen to collaborate with and support the other women in their cohort.
Professional Development Tracks
Under these key areas, fellows will be divided into two tracks based on their experience:
1. SOCIAL ENTREPRENUERS
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Women founders or co-founders who hold key decision-making authority and own or hold at least 50% equity in a social enterprise—whether for-profit or not-for-profit—that uses entrepreneurial models to address social impact challenges aligned with the fellowship’s thematic areas.
2. SOCIAL SECTOR LEADERS
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Women leaders and executives (i.e. CEO, president, executive director, vice-president, etc.) who hold significant decision-making or leadership roles within non-profit, for-profit, civil society, or philanthropic organisations and who drive community-centred programmes, influence, or systems change efforts aligned with the fellowship’s thematic areas.
The two-track structure promotes capacity-building collaboration across sectors while fostering deep connections between women leaders who share an area of focus and encounter similar challenges. The Fellowship focuses on leadership capacity building and skills development, and is designed to strengthen the leadership of participants and increase the success of their ventures and efforts. Support services include mentoring, peer-to-peer engagement, SDG project development, and visibility.
The programme takes a participant-centred approach, adapting its curriculum to the needs of each cohort. Beginning and ending with in-person convenings in India, Fellows are integrated into Vital Voices’ global community through the VV Community Hub, with webinars and community gatherings hosted between the two convenings over the 10-month programme.
INTERESTED Applicants
- Are enthusiastic about participating in a 10-month fellowship program
- Are motivated to learn new skills, enhance their leadership capacity, and make changes to grow their initiative, organization or business
- Are able to devote 6-8 hours per month for webinars, virtual community gatherings, etc.
- Have the authority to make critical decisions regarding their initiative, organization, or business
- Have an idea or plan for a SDG/social-impact project that will be developed over the course of the fellowship
- Are willing to commit to working with Reliance Foundation and Vital Voices to track their personal and/or business growth during the program and for up to six months after the closure of the fellowship by being responsive and participating in data collection activities including online surveys and phone calls
- Are interested in collaborating with and supporting the other women in their cohort
What will you receive from the program?
- Two (2) webinars per month extending over an 8-month period, focused on leadership development, foundational content areas, and track-specific customized training sessions
- Ten (10) leadership circles over a 10-month period, focused on peer discussion, alumni connection, and resource sharing based on thematic areas and needs of the cohort
- Five (5) 1-on-1 mentoring sessions spreading across the 8-month period
- Monthly peer group meetings based on similar SDG impact projects and thematic areas, self-hosted on the Vital Voices Hub
- Two (2) in-person convenings at the beginning and end of the Fellowship in India, including a selective showcase of your SDG/social impact project during the final convening
- Access to supportive services such as tools and resources, visibility and mentorship opportunities through the Vital Voices Global Network
- Access to the Vital Voices Community Hub, a global online leadership and networking platform, for leaders in Vital Voices to share and obtain resources and support, and effectively collaborate and communicate with one another.
Eligibility
General criteria
- Identify as a woman and be an Indian national currently residing and working in India.
- Have at least five years of experience leading or contributing to initiatives aligned with one or more of the fellowship’s thematic areas:
- Women’s Empowerment & Economic Agency
- Children’s Well-Being & Foundational Learning
- Youth Development, Education & Skills for the Future
- Agriculture, Rural Livelihoods & Climate-Resilient Communities
- Demonstrate a commitment to advancing the SDGs through innovation, partnerships, and where relevant technology- and AI-enabled approaches.
- Show leadership potential, a collaborative mindset, and readiness to apply learning to strengthen their organisation or initiative.
- Possess at least intermediate proficiency in written and spoken English.
Additional criteria for the Social Entrepreneurship track
- Applicants must be entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, or key decision-makers at a qualifying business or social enterprise in one or more of the four thematic areas
- Have demonstrated leadership and key decision-making authority within their business, social enterprise, or initiative, and show high potential for future leadership development
- Have demonstrated impact and a commitment to incorporating innovative solutions within their business or social enterprise
- The social enterprise should be based in India, should employ at least 3 full-time staff (or the part-time equivalent), and should have been in operation for at least 5 years at the time of application
Additional criteria for the Social Sector Leaders track
- Applicants must be spearheading programmes at development-sector / non-profit / for-profit/ civil-society organisations in one or more of the four thematic areas
- Have demonstrated leadership and key decision-making authority within their organisation and show high potential for future leadership development
- Have demonstrated impact and a commitment to incorporating innovative solutions within their organisation
- Have a track record of at least 5 years carrying out activities in the thematic areas listed above at the time of application
- The organisation must be registered with the Government of India as a foundation, trust, non-profit organisation, for-profit, or a Section 8 Company (erstwhile Section 25 Company) under the Companies Act 2013, with a track record of at least five years carrying out activities in the areas listed above at the time of application
how to apply
Applications are open through 11 November 2026 (11:59 PM IST). Apply via this link: https://s.alchemer.com/s3/2026-2027-WomenLeaders-India-Fellowship-Application
Selected candidates will be notified by the second week of December 2026, and all candidates will be notified by the end of December 2026. Questions? Email WomenLeadersIndia@vitalvoices.org with the subject line “2026-2027 WomenLeaders India Fellowship Application (Cohort 3).”
Attend an information session: Vital Voices will host an online information session about the Fellowship on 4th November, 2026, at 6:00 PM IST. Register HERE.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the application process, eligibility, and Fellowship, please refer to our Application FAQ.
