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Raised in a financially-challenged family among nine boys, she was the only one to go to college. Her friends were shocked and even laughed when Lila enrolled as the first female student at the Government College of Engineering, in Pune. But no one was laughing when she went on to an unprecedented career, rising to become the first woman Managing Director of a multinational company in India and Chair of many major corporations. Today, she leads the Lila Poonawalla Foundation with that same boundless determination, to help promising young women, without the financial means, to pursue higher education in Engineering and other chosen fields in order to provide each with the tools she needs to build her own path to success. |
The Lila Poonawalla Foundation, with support from the IKEA Foundation, is providing individual scholarships to 200 deserving young women from disadvantaged families: 100 to complete their Graduate Degree in Engineering, and another 100 to finish their Post-Graduate degrees and become highly-skilled professionals in any chosen field. Beyond financial funding, every student will receive a complete package of support including mentoring from industry experts, entrepreneurial advice, career counselling, and job placement services. As these women choose to marry and decide to have children of their own, they'll raise and educate their daughters to enjoy a higher standard of living too. So, for each woman receiving a scholarship the benefits will multiply and reach far beyond...
The project is based in Pune
Increasing access to professional education for promising young girls from disadvantaged families.
From poverty to a higher education and self confidence
“I did not have the capacity to pay the fees of such a costly MBA course..."
Young women are provided with opportunities
Social and cultural issues can make it hard for girls to get a higher education...
