Category: STARTUPS News

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‘Startups bringing down unemployment rate’

'Startups in India helping in bringing down unemployment rate'

Arvind Kumar said that failure is a part of the startup ecosystem not just in India but also in the developed part of the world..writes Archana Sharma

Startups in India are contributing towards bringing down the unemployment rate in the country to a great extent, Software Technology Park of India Director General Arvind Kumar said here on Wednesday.

Kumar was in the city recently to unveil STPI incubation facility.

Any NGO registered as a private limited company with a novel idea that meets the set criteria can be taken up as a startup.

Interacting exclusively with IANS, he said, “Currently, around 10,000 startups are being supported by us, and these entities have been instrumental in creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. In the long run, they are going to create a very large volume of jobs, he added.

In Rajasthan, there are around 80-85 startups being supported by his technology park, he said.

To a question on fear of slowdown and startup failure, he said, “Startup failure is gradually reducing in India. Startup itself means a new idea which needs to find acceptance in the market and hence there are chances of failure and hence comes its name as start-up which means you don’t have hundred per cent chances of success. However, these days, we are working on an idea to bring in the problem statement from industry, so that there are less chances of failure and more chances of acceptability and adaptability, he added.

“We have started doing industry collaborations so startup failure has reduced. Now, there are Industry and academy partners as well and we are also providing administrative support to them,” said Kumar.

He further said that failure is a part of the startup ecosystem not just in India but also in the developed part of the world. “Our country has just embarked on the journey of startups, so naturally failures will be little more compared to those countries which started it some three decades back,” he said.

In developed countries, the success rate may be more because India has the first generation of start-ups compared to the US and other such countries which have third generation of startups. “We are at an evolving stage of startups”, he added.

On the challenges, he said, “Earlier, getting funds was one of the challenges. However, now since NRIs want to come back to India and become angel investors, funds are not as much of an issue as it was 20 years back.”

Meanwhile, another challenge is the market, so startups are now being connected with the state govt for ease of business.

Startup ecosystem is now working on networking and it has to be increased, he suggested further.

Networking can help them to get to market and to find market problems as well, he added.

ALSO READ: ‘Indian education space needs own AI model’

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Party over for Indian startups & unicorns?

Govt goes bullish on startups with ESOP holiday, tax relief.

Of those heavy loss-making unicorns, 14 were from the e-commerce sector, followed by fintech at 13, and consumer services at six unicorns…reports Asian Lite News

The great Indian startup and unicorn party, which saw record funding volumes in 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022, appears to be over for now as several top names in the ecosystem continue to bleed money, with no respite in sight in FY23.

At least 55 (74 per cent) from 74 unicorns incurred a cumulative operating loss of $5.9 billion in FY22, according to leading startup covering portal Inc42.

Of those heavy loss-making unicorns, 14 were from the e-commerce sector, followed by fintech at 13, and consumer services at six unicorns, the report added.

While Swiggy incurred around $398 million loss in FY22, BharatPe reported $726 million operating loss in FY22.

Flipkart incurred $568 million loss and Meesho reported $422 million operating loss.

VerSe Innovation reported a loss of $343 million in FY22; ShareChat incurred $377 million and Unacademy $352 million, according to Inc42.

Another unicorn udaan incurred $229 million in FY22 operating losses.

The curious case of edtech major BYJU’s continues to haunt millions. The company reported an astounding net loss of over Rs 4,588 crore in FY21 on consolidated revenues of Rs 2,428 crore.

However, the company last year said it registered nearly Rs 9,991 crore in revenues in its FY22 financial results.

Meanwhile, BYJU’s is yet to file its FY22 results with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Most of the leading Indian edtech startups have been bleeding money for months now.

Some of these loss-making unicorns companies are expected to launch their IPOs soon but with their income nosediving, the public market route to raise money and stay afloat has become all the more difficult.

Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds in the first quarter of 2023, a massive 75 per cent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly amid a deepening funding winter.

There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022, according to the report by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.

The funding volumes contracted due to the reduction in late-stage funding, which declined by 79 per cent in the first quarter ($1.8 billion) compared to Q1 2022.

Early-stage rounds saw funding of $844 million, a drop of 4 per cent compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 68 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022.

Late-stage rounds in Q1 of 2023 saw funding of $1.8 billion, a decline of 79 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022 and a 23 per cent drop compared to Q4 last year.

All eyes are now on top Indian startups/unicorns as they begin to reveal their FY23 results.

ALSO READ: Raj Neervannan-cofounded AlphaSense keen on India

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Gloomy quarter for fintech startups

Fintech.

No companies from the fintech space went public in Q1 2023, and there were no new entrants in the unicorn club….reports Asian Lite News

Fintech startups in the country attracted investments worth $1.2 billion in Q1 2023, 55 per cent lower (year-on-year) than $2.6 billion they raised in the same period last year, a report showed on Thursday.

It was an uneventful quarter in terms of IPOs and unicorns for the sector.ANo companies from the fintech space went public in Q1 2023, and there were no new entrants in the unicorn club.

However, this was a sharp jump of 126 per cent when compared with $523 million raised in Q4 of 2022, according to data provided by global SaaS-based market intelligence platform Tracxn.

The sector recorded late-stage investments of $977 million in the first three months of 2023, a spike of 325 per cent when compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 44 per cent from Q1 2022.

Early-stage funding during the quarter was $177 million, down 30 per cent and 76 per cent from Q4 2022 and Q1 2022, respectively.

Seed-stage funding of $30.2 million was observed during this quarter, a fall of 21 per cent and 74 per cent from Q4 2022 and Q1 2022, respectively, the report mentioned.

In the fintech space, India is the second-highest funded geography after the US in the first quarter, and occupies a spot in the top five geographies in terms of total funding activities.

“However, the funding is still on a declining trend when compared with previous years, although there has been an uptick in funding over the past few quarters,” the report added.

Sequoia Capital, AngelList and Y Combinator are the most active investors in the country’s fintech space.

Y Combinator, 100X.VC, and LetsVenture were the top seed-stage investors. Xceedance, Telama Family Office, and CourtsideVC were the top early-stage investors, while Premji Invest, General Atlantic, and TVS Capital Funds were the top late-stage investors.

The sector observed six $100 million funding rounds in the first three months. Companies such as PhonePe, Mintify, Insurance Dekho and KreditBee raised funds above $100 million during this period.

Fintech companies in Bengaluru took the lead, raising $796 million, followed by Mumbai and Gurugram, which raised $222 million and $151 million respectively, during the quarter.

There was a slight uptick in acquisitions. The sector witnessed 11 acquisitions in Q1 2023, as against six acquisitions in Q4 of 2022, said the report.

ALSO READ: Mounting Losses & Piling Debt Crippling PIA

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No new unicorn in 3 months as funding falls

Govt goes bullish on startups with ESOP holiday, tax relief.

There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022…reports Asian Lite News

Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds in the first quarter of 2023, a massive 75 per cent lower compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly amid a deepening funding winter, a report showed on Monday.

There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022, according to the report by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.

The funding volumes contracted due to the reduction in late-stage funding, which declined by 79 per cent in the first quarter ($1.8 billion) compared to Q1 2022.

Early-stage rounds saw funding of $844 million, a drop of 4 per cent compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 68 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022.

Moreover, seed funding rounds in Q1 2023 saw funding of $153 million, a 16 per cent drop from Q4 2022. Although funding has decreased YoY, the MoM comparison is more promising as Indian startups saw a significant uptick of 54 per cent from $777 million in February 2023 to $1.2 billion in March 2023.

Late-stage rounds in Q1 of 2023 saw funding of $1.8 billion, a decline of 79 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022 and a 23 per cent drop compared to Q4 last year.

Total funding declined by 21 per cent in Q1 2023 as compared to Q4 2022, the report mentioned.

Although funding has decreased YoY, the month-on-month funding in the Indian startup ecosystem was a significant uptick of 54 per cent from $777 million in February to $1.2 billion in March.

The quarter witnessed nine, more than $100 million funding rounds with companies like PhonePe, Lenskart, Mintify, Insurance Dekho, FreshtoHome foods, TI Clean Mobility and KreditBee sourcing big-ticket deals.

PhonePe raised a total of $650 million in multiple Series D rounds in Q1 of 2023, valuing the company at $12 billion.

Lenskart raised $500 million in Series J round led by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) at a valuation of $4.5 billion, the Tracxn report mentioned.

The leading sectors in terms of funding this quarter were fintech, retail and enterprise applications.

The fintech segment witnessed a funding growth of 150 per cent compared to Q4 of 2022; however, this is a drop of 51 per cent compared to Q1 2022.

In terms of exits, the scenario has remained stable for acquisitions QoQ as 46 acquisitions took place compared to the 43 in Q4 2022, the report said.

No end to layoffs

There is no stopping layoffs at the Indian startups and more than 24,250 employees have so far lost their jobs in the homegrown start-up ecosystem.

According to latest data from leading startup coverage portal Inc42, 24,256 employees have been laid off by 84 startups till date.

The list of startups sacking employees is only growing in the country.

Leading digital healthcare platform Practo has laid off 41 employees, mostly engineers, as part of the company’s continuous performance management and planning process, as the funding winter continues.

Homegrown quick-grocery delivery provider Dunzo has laid off at least 30 per cent of its workforce, nearly 300 employees, after it raised $75 million in a fresh funding round.

According to reports, Bengaluru-based ZestMoney is laying off 20 per cent of its workforce, which will impact nearly 100 employees.

Homegrown fantasy e-sports startup FanClash has laid off about 75 per cent of its workforce, the media reported.

According to Inc42, citing sources, the startup laid off about 100 employees in three rounds, with the impacted employees receiving a two-month salary as a severance package.

Late last month, Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO of Unacademy, announced to reduce the size of the team by 12 per cent or more than 350 employees to “meet the goals we are chasing in the current realities we face”.

The startups that lead the layoff tally include BYJU’S, Ola, OYO, Meesho, MPL, LivSpace, Innovaccer, Udaan, Unacademy and Vedantu, among others.

Home interiors and renovation platform Livspace recently laid off at least 100 employees as part of cost-cutting measures.

SaaS platform for online stores Dukaan, laid off nearly 30 per cent of its workforce, or around 60 employees — its second layoff in nearly six months.

Healthcare unicorn Pristyn Care sacked up to 350 employees across departments and impacted employees from sales, tech and product teams.

Online higher education company upGrad laid off nearly 30 per cent of its workforce at its subsidiary “Campus”.

ALSO READ: Cognizant, Microsoft expand tie up for healthcare

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GCPL to invest Rs 100 cr in early spring

GCPL to invest Rs 100 cr in early-stage consumer startups in India

GCPL said it will anchor the fund in addition to offering its expertise and experience to help founders build strong, sustainable companies…reports Asian Lite News

Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) on Saturday said they will invest Rs 100 crore in Early Spring, a new Rs 300 crore early-stage consumer fund being set up by Spring Marketing Capital (Spring).

GCPL said it will anchor the fund in addition to offering its expertise and experience to help founders build strong, sustainable companies.

Spring’s first fund of Rs 150 crore continues to invest in companies at Series A and beyond. The Early Spring Fund will invest Rs 5-Rs 20 crore in each company, from seed to pre-series A stage.

“We intent to leverage our understanding of consumer space and learnings over the last decades to enable early-stage founders focused on building strong offline as well as online presence by offering differentiated products in India,” said Omar Momin, Head M&A, GCPL.

Spring is run by Raja Ganapathy, Arun Iyer and Vineet Gupta, who bring together decades of investing and brand building experience.

GCPL will offer expertise and experience enabling founders to build strong, sustainable companies.

“I would urge new-age companies to connect with and leverage Spring’s expertise and experience across the spectrum of brand building, manufacturing, product development, distribution and future capital raises,” Momin added.

Meanwhile, a new report said on Tuesday that about 80 per cent of early-stage startups plan to increase their workforce in 2023, while 15.78 per cent plan to maintain their existing headcount.

According to the 2023 FICCI-Randstad startup hiring trends report, nearly 92 per cent of these startups stated that their hiring decisions will primarily be driven by new project orders, additional funding raised from investors and expansion strategies.

“Startups create a large range of jobs as they grow and mature. As this report highlights, the initial opportunities arise as founders onboard the early team to help establish the business. A multiplier impact on job creation is seen in the growth and expansion stage when operations expand, and various initiatives mature,” Rohit Bansal, Chairman of the FICCI Start-up Committee, and Co-founder, AceVector Group & Titan Capital, said.

Notably, these startups have secured Series A and Series B funding, are well-capitalised, and are actively seeking to hire new talent.

While startups are planning to expand their workforce, a substantial portion, 31.92 per cent anticipate an increase in hiring by over 30 per cent.

About 28.08 per cent of companies plan to expand their teams in the 11-20 per cent range, according to the report.

The report also stated that hiring will primarily occur at the junior and mid-levels.

ALSO READ: Practo lays off 41 employees

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StartUp Bahrain officially relaunches

Tamkeen and StartUp Bahrain established partnership as part of their commitment to supporting startups and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom…reports Asian Lite News

StartUp Bahrain, a leading platform in the Kingdom’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, now powered by The Labour Fund, “Tamkeen”, has announced and celebrated its relaunch on its 10th year anniversary.

Tamkeen and StartUp Bahrain established this partnership as part of their commitment to supporting startups and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. As part of their relaunch, StartUp Bahrain announced that they will work on strengthening and empowering the startup ecosystem in the Kingdom of Bahrain through a new team, enhanced vision, and exciting activities, initiatives, and events for the years to come. The platform will continue to offer incredible perks like AWS Activate, free credits with FACEKI and free workshops with HyperGrowth, all to help startups grow and scale overseas.

On this occasion, Her Excellency, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) stated: “Tamkeen is committed to nurturing a thriving startup ecosystem in Bahrain. By supporting StartUp Bahrain, we are ensuring that local talent and their innovative ideas have access to a wide range of opportunities to succeed and thrive, while also positioning Bahrain as a leading entrepreneurship hub in the region, thus driving economic growth and prosperity.”

She added: “Since establishment Tamkeen focused on empowering entrepreneurship and has supported during the past years more than 19,000 entrepreneurs to launch their new business ventures, while also partnering with several financial institutions to facilitate financing solutions which supported more than 7,000 small and micro enterprises.”

Since its inception, StartUp Bahrain has played a pivotal role in nurturing the startup ecosystem in Bahrain with programs, workshops and events, and this relaunch on its 10th anniversary symbolizes a new beginning in its journey, with more exciting and beneficial perks aimed at supporting startups. Moreover, StartUp Bahrain aims to further accelerate the growth of startups through this revamped platform, thus making a valuable contribution towards boosting Bahrain’s economy and fostering entrepreneurship in the region.

Bader Kamal from StartUp Bahrain, expressed his excitement about the relaunch, stating: “We are thrilled to have StartUp Bahrain enter its 10th year with an entity as dedicated and eager to empower the startup scene as Tamkeen. The ecosystem has grown tremendously in the past decade, and we are committed to fostering the growth and support towards the next generation of entrepreneurs in Bahrain by connecting them to stakeholders through a unified platform.”

Entrepreneurs in Bahrain will be able to reap the benefits of this partnership between Tamkeen and StartUp Bahrain through a variety of programs available on the platform, with more yet to be announced throughout the year. With this relaunch, StartUp Bahrain aims to play a leading role in driving innovation and economic growth in Bahrain for years to come.

StartUp Bahrain is one element of a comprehensive network of support available to startups in Bahrain and the wider region, which includes Tamkeen, the Bahrain Economic Development Board, and accelerators such as Flat6Labs and Brinc, Bahrain’s first Angel Investors Company Tenmou and the biggest FinTech incubator in the region, Bahrain FinTech Bay.

ALSO READ: World Bank lauds UAE’s ‘pivotal role’ in climate action

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Sequoia’s Surge to empower 12 new startups

Sequoia India and Southeast Asia's Surge to empower 12 new startups

‘Surge 08’ is currently in progress and the founders are going through a 16-week hybrid programme focused on company building…reports Asian Lite News

Surge, which is Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up programme for early-stage startups, on Wednesday said it has launched its eighth cohort, featuring 30 inspiring founders across 12 companies.

‘Surge 08’ cohort includes startups that are building futuristic products across climate tech, AI, metaverse, digital health, new consumer brands and new models of e-commerce.

The curated community of startups under the programme now includes eight cohorts, more than 300 founders and over 130 startups across more than 16 sectors, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia said in a statement.

“Surge 08 founders are building next-gen products and businesses that have the potential to revolutionise their sectors over the next decade,” said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, and Surge.

These diverse set of founders each bring with them unique experiences and expertise to create ambitious and differentiated products and platforms to the problems they are tackling, and “we are excited to be a part of their early company-building journeys,” Anandan added.

Surge combines up to $3 million of seed capital with company-building workshops, a global curriculum and support from a community of exceptional mentors and founders.

Half of Surge 08 startups have at least one female founder, including an AI and natural language processing PhD holder focused on AI in healthcare and two medical doctors from Indonesia who are leveraging technology to democratise access to health and wellness services.

‘Surge 08’ is currently in progress and the founders are going through a 16-week hybrid programme focused on company building, said the leading VC firm.

Sequoia Capital India and Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia actively partner with founders from a wide range of companies, including BYJUs, CRED, Druva, Freshworks, Groww, Mamaearth, Pine Labs, Polygon, Razorpay, Truecaller, Zomato and more.

ALSO READ: Tough times ahead for Indian startups

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Tough times ahead for Indian startups

Startup funding slows but strong core policies will help tide over uncertainties, say experts(IN)

The market disruption by the Covid-19 pandemic created phases of growth and slowdowns for startups…reports Asian Lite News

Consumer demand is expected to stay low over the coming quarters, as inflation continues to rise, creating a further slowdown phase for the startups in the country, a new report has said.

There is an ongoing risk of further escalation in the war on Ukraine and the current wheat crop being impacted by hot weather conditions, according to market research firm Redseer Strategy Consultants.

Consumer perception of the general economic condition continues to be pessimistic as per the Reserve Bank of India’s Consumer Confidence Survey of January 2023, where more than 50 per cent of consumers reported it to have worsened.

This comes at a difficult time for startups. They currently have limited ability to drive growth through discounts and other levers, which worked well during an easier funding environment.

“Therefore, startups must focus on efficient unit economics and improving profitability by sticking to their core offerings,” the report said.

One strategy that has worked for FMCG players in the face of shrinkflation has been the push towards smaller stock-keeping units (SKUs).

“Bharat-focused startups, too, need to look at revamping their SKU strategy to fit the tighter wallets of the mass-market consumers. The second strategy is to double down on the premium categories, which have lower price elasticity and have performed well against market pressures across sectors,” the findings showed.

The market disruption by the Covid-19 pandemic created phases of growth and slowdowns for startups.

As a result, most businesses experienced a net growth that spanned two pandemic waves.

However, in 2022, global inflationary pressures severely impacted consumer demand. The revenue increase was driven by higher prices, as volumes remained low across the urban and rural sectors.

“With the macroenvironment challenges expected to continue, consumer demand is likely to remain subdued for the foreseeable future,” the report said.

“We expect consumer demand over the near future to continue staying subdued, with high inflation, unemployment in the urban organised sector and falling real wages in the rural areas,” it added.

ALSO READ: SpiceJet net profit jumps to Rs 107 cr

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‘AIC-RNTU provides holistic exposure to promising startups’

AIC-RNTU is located at Raisen, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The incubation centre was established in June 2018 and has been continuously supporting startups since then…reports Lothungbeni Humtsoe

We are all aware of the importance of entrepreneurship in terms of providing products and jobs, but most importantly in terms of functioning as the source of economic growth in a specific state or country. With a vision to enhance the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh and rise as top leaders and contribute to the economy, AIC-RNTU Foundation, supported by NITI Aayog under Atal Innovation Mission was founded in the year 2018 under the leadership of CEO, Ronald Fernandez and Director AIC-RNTU Foundation, Siddharth Chaturvedi.

To help companies expand their businesses while also raising awareness and encouraging entrepreneurship as a career option among students. Through numerous events, workshops, and mentoring sessions, AIC-RNTU has engaged and supported 350+ entrepreneurs while also creating 250+ jobs. We spoke with Siddharth Chaturvedi, who walked us through the entire AIC-RNTU ecosystem.

Read Excerpts:

Tell us about the INCUBATION facility. Where is it, and when did you start it?

Siddharth: AIC-RNTU Foundation, Bhopal is one of the leading Incubation centres of Central India, which is supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. AIC-RNTU has today become Central India’s leading name in startup incubation and has been working to support the Start-up ecosystem across all the functions viz. funding, mentoring, handholding, industry connect, workshops, investor connects, events, competitions, new age labs & dedicated office space, etc.

AIC-RNTU is located at Raisen, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The incubation centre was established in June 2018 and has been continuously supporting startups since then.

Could you perhaps share any case studies with us?

Siddharth: Medyseva Technologies Private Limited, a MedTech startup based out of Indore joined AIC-RNTU as an incubator at a very early stage. They were provided a seed fund support of INR 35 Lakhs by AIC-RNTU under Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. Medyseva is also a part of AIC-RNTU Discover Cohort 2022. The startup was provided mentoring and training through the vast pool of mentors associated with AIC-RNTU. AIC-RNTU also provided a market connection of 22000 centers in rural areas through the parent organization, AISECT Group to Medyseva. The startup recently raised an investment amount of INR 1.15 Crores from The Horses Stable (an Indian reality show created and conceptualized under the mentorship of entrepreneur and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty).

Which companies are you currently sponsoring at the centre?

Siddharth: We have 74 startups incubated with us. As we are sector agnostic, the startups are from multiple sectors. Brands like Medyseva and Wonderlooms are some of the startups that have raised money from Angel Investors and VC Firms after being incubated at AIC-RNTU.

Is AIC-RNTU self-funded or do you receive funding from the government?

Siddharth: AIC-RNTU Foundation is an Incubation Centre supported and funded by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is an ambitious flagship program of NITI Aayog. Under its aegis, Rabindranath Tagore University was selected to establish Atal Incubation Centre by Niti Aayog amongst the 1200 second-round applicants. AIM grant was used to set up the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the incubation centre.

AIC-RNTU has also received Startup India Seed Fund Scheme by DPIIT, and Nidhi – Seed Support Scheme by DST (Department of Science & Technology) to support and fund eligible startups.

What is the team size?

Siddharth: We are an 11 people team that includes Director, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Manager, Incubation Officer, Assistant Incubation Officer, Accountant/Administration, Technical Person, Designers, and Consultant/Advisor.

Apart from this, AIC-RNTU also has a mentor pool of 80+ mentors, 50+ corporate partners, 30+ investors, and 10+ ecosystem partners to support the startups.

How do you manage training/workshops? Who conducts these sessions?

Siddharth: AIC-RNTU provides holistic exposure to promising startups. That’s why we have divided our incubation program according to the stage of the startups. Following is our Incubation Program :

Ideate Program: This program aims at helping innovation-driven startups in their cocoon stage to convert their invalidated business ideas into feasible prototypes. Under this program, we provide a dedicated technical mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support & corporate connections to startups. This is a 5-6 months program & expected outcome from the startup will be a feasible prototype that can be commercialised in a later stage

Discover Program: This program aims at startups who have their prototype in place but struggling with business models & customer acquisition. Under this program, we help them in making robust business models, and customer acquisition strategies and give them market access. Under this program, we provide a dedicated business mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support, access to a network, legal and accounting support, technical support, and H.R support. Duration – 9 Months

Growth Program: This program leads to investment, Under this program, we help startups in making their investment ready. Under this program, we provide a dedicated business mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support, access to the network, legal & accounting support, access to HNI’s/VCs, corporate connections & H.R support. Duration -3 Months.

AIC-RNTU enhancing the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh.(Photo:IANSLIFE)

A vast pool of 80+ mentors, which includes successful entrepreneurs from across the country, mentors from investment backgrounds, and domain experts are associated with AIC-RNTU for a holistic learning experience to startups. Startup training and workshops are mainly carried out through them.

AIC-RNTU has engaged and supported 350+ startups and created 250+ Jobs through various events- Please share more insights on this.

Siddharth: AIC-RNTU being an incubation center is working towards building a strong startup ecosystem in central India. For this purpose, we do multiple events which include conferences, investor networking events, business networking events, awareness and outreach events, etc. These events also help entrepreneurs gain the necessary exposure that they might not be getting otherwise.

Some of the prominent events include the EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) which is a premier global competition for students who own and operate a business, Dream Startup Challenge – in association with CII, DCB Bank Innovation Carnival, Navonmesh Startup Idea Challenge, i4 Summit to identify and support innovation from rural areas of central India, etc. Over the years, startups and innovators have benefited from such events.

ALSO READ- ‘Khadi for Nation, Khadi for Fashion, Khadi for Transformation’

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BioAsia 2023 to host innovation zone for startups

BioAsia 2023

BioAsia 2023 will be held in Hyderabad from February 24 to 26…reports Asian Lite News

BioAsia 2023, Asia’s largest life-sciences and healthcare conference, will host a startup showcase, a platform for promising startups in the healthcare and life sciences ecosystem.

The Innovation Zone’ at the life sciences event, organised by the Telangana government, will feature a startup stage pavilion and an incubator pavilion.

BioAsia 2023 will be held in Hyderabad from February 24 to 26.

With its commitment to driving innovation, over 75 short-listed startups are being given participation fee waivers in addition to a free display booth. The event aims to provide promising startups focused on pharma, biotech, life sciences, health-tech and med-tech sectors a global stage to exhibit their innovative ideas, the organisers announced on Thursday.

The 20th of BioAsia is expected to attract the participation of more than 3,000 global participants from over 50 countries.

The Innovation Zone has received an overwhelming response from the startup community, receiving over 400 applicants from around the world, including from Singapore, Thailand, the US, Ireland, and the UK.

These startups will be provided space to showcase their invocation at the exhibition. The scrutinisation of the applications was based on peculiarity, affordability, and the idea/product’s ability to fulfil the demand.

PE and VC firms, investment banks, and angel investors have been invited to the event where budding startups will be given the opportunity to network and explore potential collaborations.

The participating startups will be provided access to all conferences and sessions along with an opportunity to network with the industry leaders. In due course, five startups will be selected by the jury panel to exhibit at the main BioAsia Valedictory session and will also be given exclusive pitch time for each team.

They will also be handed over a cash prize along with credits for Amazon cloud. The startup stage is being organised in partnership with Tech Mahindra and BIRAC, Government of India.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (I&C and IT), Government of Telangana, said that the sheer number of startup deals and funding is a testimony that Hyderabad has ascended to the country’s top five startup hubs.

“BioAsia has gained global repute through the impact generated by its 19 previous editions. Telangana is the proud home for this year’s Innovation Zone, which presents an enormous opportunity for distinctive startups,” he said.

ALSO READ: ‘Rethinking Money and Capital’