Winners of TiE Women Pitch 2026

• Three women-led start-ups awarded cash prizes and mentorship
• Winner to represent Mysuru at TiE Women Semi-Finals in Hyderabad

Mysuru: In a powerful showcase of women’s entrepreneurship, TiE Mysuru recently announced the winners of TiE Women Pitch 2026, its flagship competition celebrating bold ideas, scalable business models and market-ready ventures led by women founders.

The event drew participants from across sectors, with the top three start-ups earning cash prizes, mentorship commitments and a pathway to regional recognition.

Winner: Ashwini Bagare of Yash Agro Inc / Yash Agri Foods Private Limited (Food Tech) secured the top spot with its focus on food processing and food ingredients, specialising in dehydrated vegetables, herbs and spice powders. The venture aligns with rising consumer demand for clean-label, functional foods and sustainable agri-food solutions in the health and wellness segment.

Ashwini Bagare was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 75,000 and TiE Mysuru will sponsor her participation in TiE Women Semi-Finals in Hyderabad from Sept. 24 to 26, where she will compete alongside winners from other TiE chapters across India.

1st Runner-Up: Sayanika Deka of Svastha Samriddhi Private Limited (Biotechnology, Health & Nutrition) impressed the jury with IndiMeat, a clinical-protein platform offering competitive pricing (10-20% lower than imported alternatives), strong gross margins (40-45%) and near carbon-neutral logistics enabled by 12 to 18-month shelf stability without cold chain.

Sayanika Deka received a cash prize of Rs. 50,000.

2nd Runner-Up: TieOppConnect Private Limited (EdTech) is an AI-enabled Employability Readiness and CareerTech platform that helps students and higher-education institutions systematically measure and improve placement readiness. Its Employability Readiness Index (ERI™) provides a measurable score based on skills, assessments, coding performance, interview readiness and career engagement. The team was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000.

The jury panel comprised Deepa Pulipati – Behavioural Scientist, Executive Coach and Family Business Advisor; Shubha Sanjay Urs – Entrepreneur (Lighting Solutions), Textile Consultant and Founder, Mysuru Book Clubs; Dr. Prashanth Viswanath – Dean of Research, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research.

TiE Mysuru is a chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global non-profit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking and education. The TiE Women initiative spotlights women founders, providing them with visibility, mentorship and access to capital.