Dynamic Entrepreneurs · Women · Innovators
DEWI is a women’s collective built on the sisterhood of mutual benefit. She does not need anyone to empower her. She needs the tools and the opportunities to grow on her own terms.
She has always been armed
Sometimes it’s a pen, to educate herself.
Dr Neelima Vemula
Founder & Chairperson
Founder’s note
“The greatest lesson a woman should learn is that since day one, she already had everything she needed within herself. It is the world that convinced her that she did not.”
A woman who is truly happy at her home and at her workplace will run a perfectly balanced home, which in turn reflects on the quality of individuals who contribute to society through her. DEWI believes in the sisterhood of mutual benefit — collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing, and support.
DEWI is power to fuel your dreams.
Meet the founders
The collective
It fills again every month — at a hotel, a resort, or a place of interest somewhere in the city. You are introduced at Parichay, and then the room is yours.
Four pillars of DEWI
Four commitments the collective makes to every woman who joins it.
Inspire innovation, nurture ideas, and support women in building successful and sustainable businesses.
Strengthen your personal and business brand with visibility, networking, and strategic opportunities.
Learn, mentor, and grow through shared experiences and expertise.
Be part of a trusted sisterhood that empowers, uplifts, and stands by you through every phase of your journey.
The mark
Sometimes it is a pen to educate herself, a ladle to feed her family, a knife to defend and protect, a phone to communicate and connect, a vehicle to drive. Each weapon changes along with the role she undertakes.
The DEWI story
DEWI was born from the shared vision of two friends who had navigated the rough and turbulent waters of life. Through every challenge, they arrived at one unwavering truth.
When a woman rises, a family rises. When families rise, societies flourish. And when societies flourish, the world finds peace.
The collective consciousness of being a woman keeps changing. There is a need for women's collectives to organise knowledge and business sharing that benefits women across every field, age, and economic condition — reconnecting with roots while progressing at pace.
At DEWI we don't believe networking changes lives. Belonging does. The mission is an ecosystem where women grow through knowledge and mentorship, build brands and careers, heal with real support, and thrive through collaboration.
Success here is not measured by individual achievement alone, but by how many other women each DEWI inspires to rise. Every member is a mentor, a changemaker, and a force of transformation.
Leadership
DEWI is the brainchild of Dr Neelima Vemula, known to many simply as The Connector, and her friend and co-founder Pallavi Nagalla.
Founder & Chairperson
Director of Neemax Group and Neemax Enterprises, delivering end-to-end electronics solutions across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and of Neemax Entertainments. Director at Buildcon Manufacturing, makers of adhesives and construction material under the brand LAKITEK. CEO of Yesmart Electronics.
Founding Director & Brand Custodian
Pallavi holds a Master's degree in English Literature and Psychology. She was Brand Custodian for Metro India Newspaper (Namaste Telangana), and Brand Head at Lighthouse Promotions and Anantha Bharath.
Governing council
Why join DEWI
Eight things you get from the room, beyond the room itself.
A room of women who open doors rather than guard them.
Visibility across DEWI's platforms, press, podcast, and stage.
Buyers, suppliers, and collaborators inside the collective.
Masterclasses and one-to-one guidance from women who have built it.
Counselling, support groups, and a sisterhood that shows up.
Workshops on finance, law, safety, wellness, and craft.
Joint ventures and shared campaigns between member businesses.
Chapters and business tours across India, the Gulf, and North America.
Every month
DEWI gathers monthly at a star hotel, place of interest, sponsor business centre or resort. The evening runs in order.
Member introductions and open networking.
A celebrated speaker opens the evening and sets its tone.
Practical demonstration — products, banking and finance, legal counsel, personal safety.
Two members present their product or business idea to the room.
Grooming, health, beauty, wellness, yoga, meditation.
Games and prizes, then dinner or high tea.
Signature events
Five major celebrations, one fashion week, and a calendar that moves with the city it lands in.
A DEWI project
We give wings to your dreams.
From childhood into youth we develop interests and talents — singing, art, music, dance. As we grow older we lose touch with them, or give up on them entirely, because of responsibilities and commitments.
Anantha gives you the chance to breathe life back into those dreams. Every month members write down a dream. We pick a few and find the avenues to make them happen.
15+
dreams granted so far
Initiatives
Podcasts, mentorship, wellness, outreach, and business tours — running continuously alongside the monthly gatherings.
Inspiring conversations with women leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers.
Exclusive features on prominent TV channels and digital platforms.
Intimate networking and mentorship sessions with DEWI leadership.
Community outreach, city chapters, and local networking meetups.
Communication, leadership, confidence, and personal branding workshops.
Safe spaces for sharing, healing, and mutual encouragement.
Preventive healthcare, screenings, fitness, and wellness initiatives.
Expert-led counselling, stress management, and emotional resilience programmes.
Masterclasses with industry experts and successful entrepreneurs.
Building meaningful professional and business connections.
Practical training for career and business growth.
Guidance, incubation, funding awareness, and business networking.
Inspiring journeys from extraordinary women.
Business, leisure, and learning trips designed exclusively for members.
DEWI Awards
Some build businesses, some nurture communities, some break barriers, and some silently transform lives. The DEWI Awards puts a spotlight on all of them.
NEEV Foundation
NEEV carries DEWI's social work — the causes its members fund, staff, and stand behind. Where DEWI builds businesses, NEEV builds the ground they stand on.
Support, dignity, and company for those who raised us.
Fees, materials, and mentorship that keep girls in school.
Plantation drives, waste reduction, and sustainability programmes.
Rapid response for families in medical and financial crisis.
Mother and child kits, hygiene kits, and nutrition programmes.
Skill training and market access for women outside the cities.
Join DEWI today
A platform to be seen, heard, and celebrated. Build your brand, expand your network, create your legacy.
