By Aditya Agarwal 
Entrepreneurship Training Is Moving Earlier
Entrepreneurship education in India is increasingly moving beyond college incubators and business schools.
Bombay Shaving Company has launched the Anandi Fellowship, an initiative aimed at identifying entrepreneurial potential among students as early as Class 11. The programme is open to students in Class 11, Class 12 and first-year undergraduate programmes. (The Anandi Fellowship)
Instead of requiring students to already have a startup, the fellowship focuses on entrepreneurial aptitude and potential.
That approach changes the usual sequence. Students do not necessarily need to build a company first and then seek mentorship. Instead, the programme attempts to expose promising students to founders, companies and investors earlier.
The Programme Starts With Anandi-NEAT
The first stage is the Anandi-NEAT 2026, described as a Nationwide Entrepreneurship Acumen Test.
The test is scheduled for the first week of December 2026 and is designed as a two-hour assessment. According to the programme, students do not need previous startup experience or specialised coaching to participate. (Media Infoline)
After the initial assessment, the top 50 candidates are expected to be invited to a three-day Grit Bootcamp in Gurgaon in May 2027.
From there, 10 students will be selected as Anandi Fellows. (MARKETECH APAC)
Therefore, the fellowship is structured less like a conventional academic scholarship and more like an early-stage talent identification programme.
Internships Become Part of the Education
One of the central components is the Pit-Stop Internship system.
Fellows are expected to complete internships with startups, companies and venture-capital organisations during their college years. The programme lists more than 30 partner mentor organisations. (The Anandi Fellowship)
The fellowship states that students can receive a stipend of ₹1 lakh per month during summer internships, alongside an annual scholarship of ₹1 lakh.
This creates an apprenticeship model.
Instead of learning entrepreneurship entirely through classrooms, students can gain exposure to marketing, operations, finance, supply chains, sales and product development.
That experience can also help students understand what running a company actually involves.
A Path From Student to Entrepreneur
The programme also includes a post-college pathway.
According to the fellowship’s official information, selected fellows can receive an Entrepreneur-in-Residence opportunity at Bombay Shaving Company after graduation. The programme lists a potential package of ₹25 lakh per year for that role. (The Anandi Fellowship)
Furthermore, the programme says fellows who start a company before turning 27 can access ₹1 crore in seed investment for 10% equity.
That creates a longer entrepreneurial pipeline.
A student could potentially enter through the assessment, gain experience through internships, work alongside founders, and eventually receive an opportunity to build a company.
Why Early Exposure Matters
Entrepreneurship often depends on networks as much as ideas.
Young founders can lack access to experienced operators, investors and business mentors. Consequently, early exposure can help close some of that access gap.
The Anandi Fellowship is attempting to address this by connecting students with established startup and business leaders.
However, the programme is deliberately small. Only 10 students are expected to receive the fellowship each year. (MARKETECH APAC)
Therefore, its immediate scale will remain limited.
Its broader significance may instead come from the model it represents: identifying entrepreneurial talent before students reach the traditional startup ecosystem.
India’s Founder Pipeline Could Start Earlier
India already has thousands of startup founders emerging from universities, technology companies and professional networks.
The next stage could involve identifying entrepreneurial talent much earlier.
Programs such as Anandi suggest a shift toward that model. Students can experiment, intern, learn and develop business judgment before deciding whether to launch a company.
Ultimately, entrepreneurship is not simply about having an idea.
It requires understanding customers, managing people, building systems and surviving uncertainty. Early exposure can provide students with a practical view of those challenges.
Tags: Anandi Fellowship, Bombay Shaving Company, Entrepreneurship, Young Entrepreneurs, Startup Education, Founder Ecosystem
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