MS. USHA PALIATH

A seasoned finance and strategy professional with over 20 years of experience across Corporate Finance, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship. She has worked with leading companies such as Rumi Education, Airtel, Viacom 18, Larsen & Toubro, and Reckitt Benckiser. Over the past seven years, she has been deeply involved in Social Entrepreneurship and Start-ups, focusing on empowering businesses through financial strategy, funding access, and market expansion.

As the CEO of the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India (COWE), Usha drives initiatives that support women-led enterprises through policy advocacy, capacity building, and business networking. COWE has supported over 200,000 women entrepreneurs and played a key role in several government and World Bank-backed projects, including SFURTI, Stand-Up India, IID, and STRIVE.

Previously, she served as Director of Incubation at WE Hub, where she played a key role in building incubation programs focused on women-led start-ups, funding support, and technology-driven enterprises. She worked closely with Telangana State Government, corporate partners, and global organizations to create market access opportunities and policy interventions for women entrepreneurs. She was the SPOC to help set-up the TN RISE – a women incubation centre in Tamil Nadu, being funded by the World Bank.

She also collaborates with leading incubators, including Nutrihub (IIMR), CCMB, WE Hub, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, and TEZ, serving as a trainer and mentor for start-ups, particularly in Finance, Funding, and Strategy. Additionally, she is an angel investor, supporting innovative ventures with high growth potential.

Usha holds a B.Tech from IIT Madras and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from XLRI Jamshedpur, bringing a strong academic foundation to her extensive professional expertise.