Shipra Dawar

Shipra Dawar is an Indian entrepreneur and founder of ePsyClinic, an online mental health platform launched in 2015. She also introduced IWill GITA. Dawar's work focuses on mental health accessibility and technological innovation.
Early life and education
Early Life
Dawar was born in Chandigarh, India. Her father worked as a banker, a profession that required the family to relocate frequently across the country. Alongside his banking career, her father engaged in community service, particularly supporting women’s self-help groups. These experiences shaped Dawar's interest in social welfare, which is reflected in the workforce composition of her mental health portal, ePsyClinic, where women make up 80 percent of the team.
Education
In 2019, she attended the for an on-campus certificate program in Scaling Ventures. Most recently, in 2022, she completed a Certificate Executive Program in Public Policy at the Indian School of Business.—Dawar sought to create a solution that would make psychological services more accessible. ePsyClinic was launched as an online counselling platform, bringing therapy directly into the comfort of users' homes. The platform aimed to break the barriers of stigma, geography, and accessibility by connecting users with qualified mental health professionals through a secure digital interface. The platform aimed to provide mental health support for Hindi-speaking populations and underserved communities in India, focusing on individuals experiencing mild depression and anxiety. The development of IWill GITA utilized Machine Learning suite to create conversational models capable of delivering therapeutic interactions within the framework of CBT.
The platform was designed with safeguards to ensure safety and reliability, addressing common challenges in AI implementation, such as providing responses grounded in evidence-based practices. During its pilot phase, the tool reached over 3,500 users and was scaled further through partnerships in India. In 2024, Microsoft renewed its funding to support the expansion of IWill GITA, with the goal of increasing access to mental health resources. Efforts to scale the platform continue, with an emphasis on creating accessible solutions for individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata Forum
In 2023, Dawar co-founded Bharat Bhagya Vidhata Forum, a policy think tank focused on advancing transformative technologies. The organization aims to support the development of innovative technologies and contribute to policy frameworks that enhance India's role in the global technology landscape.
Awards and recognition
# Featured in Microsoft Azure AI's Women’s History Month
# Fox Story India’s 40 Under 40 2023 List
# Member at - B20 Digital Transformation Task Force
Media presence
# Ted Talk on How to overcome depression of failure
# Ted Talk on The Pain, The Change, The Perseverance. Let's Talk, Depression
#
# Addressing the mental health care gap with IWill<ref name=":4" />

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu