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Skilletz Foundation

Empowering Women through Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

We go beyond training — nurturing entrepreneurs, mentoring leaders, facilitating market linkages, connecting people with government schemes and building the collaborative ecosystems that make growth last.

  • Projects
  • Training
  • Events
Mi Saksham livelihood programme with self-help groups

200+

Participants trained through EAP alone

National Symposium on the 17 SDGs

A message from Shri Devendra Fadnavis

Shri Devendra Fadnavis, then Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, extended his good wishes to the National Symposium on Awareness of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, organised by Skilletz Foundation in January 2023.

Our Supporters

  • Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth
  • Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha
  • PVG College
  • Department of MSME
  • Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
  • KVIC
  • deAsra Foundation
  • COSMOS Bank

What we do

Skilletz Foundation is a Section 8 not-for-profit dedicated to building an inclusive, skilled and self-reliant society.

Who we work with

  • Women
  • Youth and students
  • Self-help groups
  • Rural communities
  • Persons with disabilities
  • First-time entrepreneurs

What we bring

  • Skill development
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Employability
  • Financial literacy
  • Digital inclusion
  • Sustainable livelihoods

Run by a board of 13

Meet the team

Why we exist

Entrepreneurship is not just about creating businesses. It is about creating confidence, independence, leadership and stronger communities.

Impact

Numbers we are working to

Every figure here comes from a programme we have run or a target we have publicly committed to.

Target

1,00,000

Women entrepreneurs targeted by SEED

Delivered

14

Programmes and projects delivered

Delivered

200+

Participants trained through EAP alone

Delivered

5

Cities hosting bakery and confectionery workshops

How we work

Skill development is only the beginning. Sustainable livelihoods emerge when skills are connected to entrepreneurship, employment and market opportunities — and that is our USP.

SEED skill development and entrepreneurship training session
  1. Skill the person
  2. Build the enterprise
  3. Open the market
  4. Remove the blockers

Projects

Where the work happens

There are 14 across projects, training and events. A few of the ones we are proudest of:

All projects
Flagship

SEED

Skill Enhancement and Entrepreneurship Development — our signature programme for women starting and scaling a business.

1,00,000 women entrepreneurs targeted

Flagship

BizQueen™

A pan-India platform that puts a woman's business brand on stage — and coaches her until she can own it.

Close to 300 women, across four seasons

Flagship

DWEL — Divyanga Women Entrepreneurs Livelihood Mission

A pathway from ability to opportunity for women with disabilities — skills, mentoring, finance and market access.

100 women, 100 success stories by 2027

Flagship

Saksham Community

When women grow, families grow — a standing network of women across ages, backgrounds and stages of business.

Membership kept minimal so cost excludes nobody

Flagship

Saksham Stories

Every woman we meet carries a story, a dream waiting to take shape, challenges that tested her, failures that taught her and the quiet courage that helped her move forward.

Projects

Mi Saksham™

A year-long mentored path for Self Help Groups, nano businesses and first-time entrepreneurs — not a training course that ends at a certificate.

One-year mentorship, not a one-day workshop

What we are working to

Don’t just take our word for it

14 programmes delivered so far, every one of them documented.

1,00,000

Women entrepreneurs targeted by SEED

SEED skill development and entrepreneurship training session

Leadership

The people behind it

The foundation is guided by a multi-disciplinary leadership team comprising Chartered Accountants, Doctors and Entrepreneurs, combining professional expertise, sectoral experience and a commitment to social impact.

CA Sonali Saripalli

Founder & Managing Director

As Founder and Managing Director, she brings a blend of financial expertise, business understanding and a deep commitment to social impact. Her leadership is centred on creating practical pathways for women to discover their potential, strengthen their skills and turn their ideas into sustainable livelihoods. She shapes the foundation's programmes, partnerships and long-term direction, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship, financial awareness, legal compliance and livelihood development — making entrepreneurship less overwhelming and more achievable for women taking their first steps towards financial independence. Her understanding of finance and compliance bridges the gap between having a good business idea and building a business that is financially sound, legally aware and capable of growing, in a language and format that is practical and easy to apply at the grassroots.

CA Sonali Saripalli

Founder & Managing Director

As Founder and Managing Director, she brings a blend of financial expertise, business understanding and a deep commitment to social impact. Her leadership is centred on creating practical pathways for women to discover their potential, strengthen their skills and turn their ideas into sustainable livelihoods. She shapes the foundation's programmes, partnerships and long-term direction, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship, financial awareness, legal compliance and livelihood development — making entrepreneurship less overwhelming and more achievable for women taking their first steps towards financial independence. Her understanding of finance and compliance bridges the gap between having a good business idea and building a business that is financially sound, legally aware and capable of growing, in a language and format that is practical and easy to apply at the grassroots.

Dr. Meetali More

Co-Founder & Director

Consulting organisational and counselling psychologist. Dr. Meetali focuses on empowering women to believe in themselves, strengthen their entrepreneurial mindset, create quality products and confidently take them to market. She works closely with women on understanding what holds them back from progressing or accessing opportunities. With an academic and practical background in psychology, entrepreneurship and psychographic assessment, she believes self-discovery creates the greatest impact when translated into meaningful social development. Her role also covers identifying opportunities, building collaborations and leading the outreach that expands what the foundation can offer its community.

Dr. Meetali More

Co-Founder & Director

Consulting organisational and counselling psychologist. Dr. Meetali focuses on empowering women to believe in themselves, strengthen their entrepreneurial mindset, create quality products and confidently take them to market. She works closely with women on understanding what holds them back from progressing or accessing opportunities. With an academic and practical background in psychology, entrepreneurship and psychographic assessment, she believes self-discovery creates the greatest impact when translated into meaningful social development. Her role also covers identifying opportunities, building collaborations and leading the outreach that expands what the foundation can offer its community.

Shrruti Patole Clarence

Co-Founder & Director

“True empowerment begins with an inside-out transformation.” A purpose-driven changemaker dedicated to advancing community projects that champion entrepreneurship development and women's empowerment. With a career spanning nearly three decades in the corporate sector and in learning and development, Shrruti brings that experience and a sharp digital sense to upskilling women entrepreneurs. As India's first-ever Mrs. Universe Confident, she has turned a personal milestone into a platform for social impact, working with marginalised women on their confidence, their personal brand and their growth. An eight-times published author, TEDx speaker, image consultant and soft skills trainer, she has coached over 7,000 women and young people. The training goes past the surface to the things that decide whether a business is taken seriously: communication, executive presence, etiquette, and building a personal and business brand. At Skilletz she brings corporate leadership, poise and entrepreneurial drive together to help build an ecosystem where women and marginalised communities can do more than survive in it.

Shrruti Patole Clarence

Co-Founder & Director

“True empowerment begins with an inside-out transformation.” A purpose-driven changemaker dedicated to advancing community projects that champion entrepreneurship development and women's empowerment. With a career spanning nearly three decades in the corporate sector and in learning and development, Shrruti brings that experience and a sharp digital sense to upskilling women entrepreneurs. As India's first-ever Mrs. Universe Confident, she has turned a personal milestone into a platform for social impact, working with marginalised women on their confidence, their personal brand and their growth. An eight-times published author, TEDx speaker, image consultant and soft skills trainer, she has coached over 7,000 women and young people. The training goes past the surface to the things that decide whether a business is taken seriously: communication, executive presence, etiquette, and building a personal and business brand. At Skilletz she brings corporate leadership, poise and entrepreneurial drive together to help build an ecosystem where women and marginalised communities can do more than survive in it.

Get involved

Join the #Saksham community

Whether you want to train, collaborate, sponsor a cohort or simply come to the next event — start here.