33% of Goan Startups are Founded by Women, Higher than National Average

Goa has seen a surge in women-led startups. According to recent reports, Goa is leading the way in gender diversity within the startup ecosystem. As per the reports, 33% of the 225 registered startups in Goa have been founded by women entrepreneurs. This is significantly higher than India's national average of 18% for women-led startups.

The growth in women-founded startups in Goa is a positive sign of the changing dynamics in the entrepreneurial landscape. It's encouraging to see women entrepreneurs leveraging state policies to grow their businesses, particularly in sectors like hospitality and services. Initiatives like the Goa Startup Yatra and various programs and masterclasses are also playing a crucial role in supporting these entrepreneurs.

This trend not only contributes to economic expansion but also serves as an inspiration for the next generation of women founders. It's a testament to the innovative spirit and determination of women who are making significant strides in the tech industry and the startup ecosystem as a whole.

Some of the women-led startups are ASIER Solutions, I-Assist, Blurb Consultancy, Goenkart Digital World, Make it Happen, Tea Trunk, Contractzy, and many others. Most of these startups are from the hospitality and service sector.

These startups operate in various sectors, with many of them being active in hospitality and services. The state's supportive policies, initiatives like the Goa Startup Yatra, and incubators have played a crucial role in empowering these women entrepreneurs.

Some of the women founders said that the startup and IT promotion cell (SITPC) and the incubators have helped them launch their startups.

The success stories of these Goan Startups inspire the next generation of women founders, making Goa an emerging startup destination in the region.

Government of Goa Adds E-Learning Devices to Aaganwaadis in Support with ConveGenius

E-learning devices will soon be a new addition for children in Aaganwaadis across the state. Based on a pilot project launched with the support of Siemens Limited, the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Goa, appointed ConveGenius - a renowned ed-tech based company which has earlier done similar projects in 16 states of India like Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

This advanced learning system will be launched initially on a pilot basis at Anganwadis in Satteri and Ponda. E-learning is undertaken as a project under the ‘Digital India Mission’, a vision of ‘our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Post this pilot project, plans are afoot to extend the same to all the Anganwadis in the state. 

Speaking about e-learning, Minister for Women and Child Development Shri Vishwajit Rane, said, “Introducing e-learning to Anganwadi children has always been a dream for me, which I am very happy to say, has been accomplished with the help of Siemens and ConveGenius. 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed in the first six years, and with the state-of-the-art lesson plans, tech-enabled classrooms, and curated syllabus, our Anganwadi children will be prepared for first grade before they enter mainstream school. Online education will help our children to improve their education activities and get familiar with the technology. I am grateful to our honorable Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant for his constant support in every project and this initiative taken by us."

The educational software in Konkani and English is designed as per ECCE guidelines by ConveGenius. This digital set up comprises of smart TV and tablets with preloaded educational software to the Anganwadi’s. The tools designed by ConveGenius will strengthen the foundation of students, provide motivation, and build confidence by developing L-S-R-W (LISTENING-SPEAKING-WRITING-READING) skills through the tablet-based digital learning methods. This advanced learning system will help children to clearly remember information and make them interested in creating work programs and exercises while recording each student's performance.

Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited, said, “Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. Siemens in India has various ongoing programs in the area of skill development. The support for setting up digital Aaganwaadis adds another dimension to Siemens India’s skilling and education initiatives, with a focus on integrated community development. As a responsible Corporate Citizen, we fully support and applaud the Government of Goa’s efforts in implementing the latest technologies and infrastructure to enable quality education at every level."

Speaking about the software, Co-founder of ConveGenius Jairaj Bhattacharya said, “We are excited to participate in this initiative. With the new NEP guidelines focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy our digital curriculum frameworks will rapidly aim in improving learning outcomes and creating a digital systemic transformation. This will tie with our larger goal to impact 100 Million students across India for our EdTech for Naya Bharat mission launched in 16 states so far in the country".

The motive behind this initiative is to provide the Anganwadi children with the same infrastructure and facility that the private schools have. Ever since the pandemic, thousands of students across the country are adjusting to the new normal of online learning. There are several ways that online education can help to improve the learning experience of children. It increases the level of children's engagement with materials through the use of interactive graphics, video, and other media.

Kaydence Media Ventures Plans to Raise Rs. 5 Crore for Goa Chronicle.com

At a time of COVID-19 when media businesses in India are shutting shop due to a strain in costs while revenues are dipping, Goa-based startup Kaydence Media Ventures Private Limited (KMV) is close to raising Rs. 5 crore by offering of 5 per cent equity into the online news portal GoaChronicle.com.

[caption id="attachment_152111" align="alignleft" width="321"] Savio Rodrigues, MD & CEO, Kaydence Media Ventures Private Limited[/caption]

KMV has received Letter of Intent from Hi-Tech Natural Products (India) Ltd. to acquire 5 per cent equity in the GoaChronicle.com online news portal.

Commenting on the discussions on equity acquisition, Savio Rodrigues, MD & CEO, Kaydence Media Ventures Private Limited, expressed, "After 10-years, we decided to reach out to potential investors because we believe we have created a respectable brand. We were looking at raising Rs. 5 crores by offering 5 per cent stake in GoaChronicle.com. Our intent is to expand our informer networks, enhance our technology and grow our global presence. We have received the Letter of Intent from Hi-Tech Natural Products (India) Ltd. We are currently in discussion to structure this intent legally."

Speaking on their intent to acquire 5 per cent stake in GoaChronicle.com, Devvrat Sharma, Director, Hi-Tech Natural Products (India) Limited said, "We believe in the GoaChronicle.com team. GoaChronicle.com has garnered a cult-like status for its investigative style of journalism globally. With our financial support at this stage, we are confident that GoaChronicle.com will grow to a global brand from India in journalism.We are keen to acquire 5 per cent equity in this online news portal brand."

While India accounts for majority of GoaChronicle.com viewership, it has a large following among the NRIs in US, UAE, UK, Australia, Canada, Russia and Asian countries like Singapore, Phillipines and Malaysia.

Goa based Synapse and ScreenRoot Win India’s Best Design Studio Awards

Business-storytelling firm Synapse Communication Design Private Limited, and Interaction Design firm ScreenRoot Technologies Limited secured two of the most prestigious awards at India’s Best Design Awards 2019 by POOL Magazine.

Synapse won as India’s Best Graphic Design Studio while ScreenRoot bagged the India’s Best Digital Studio award. These awards were previously won by companies like Tata Elxsi, Lopez Design and Fractal Ink.

[caption id="attachment_135782" align="aligncenter" width="309"] Shyam Bandekar - Head of Design, Synapse and Don Paul Mathew - Head of UX Design, ScreenRoot[/caption]

Synapse showcased projects done for their clients including SAP, Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ), India’s biggest B2B e-commerce player - mjunction, and Kotak Life Insurance among others.

ScreenRoot was recognized as the best digital studio for creating a web-based investing and trading platform for Edelweiss, designing India’s most popular retail banking mobile app for ICICI Bank, and a remote teleconsultation-enabled web presence for Medanta Hospitals to name a few.

“Everyone knows good creative work is location-agnostic. But few are aware that nationally competitive design and creative firms are based in Goa. We are happy that both our firms have been recognized as winners in their respective genres,” said Tanmay Modi, CEO - Synapse and Managing Director - ScreenRoot.

In its 5th edition, India’s Best Design Awards 2019 were held in Pune on the 28th of September. An initiative by the POOL magazine, the 20-member strong international jury included Prof. GV Sreekumar, Head of IDC School of Design, IIT-Bombay, Prof. S Balaram, former Chairman, National Institute of Design and Nandita Abraham, President, Pearl Academy among others.

About Synapse

Synapse Communication Design Private Limited is a creative communication and design firm based in Goa. Agnostic to media and industries, Synapse partners with businesses to craft memorable stories across all online and offline touchpoints. Clientele include Kotak Life Insurance, L&T Infotech, Mahindra Group and others.

About ScreenRoot

ScreenRoot is a top-tier interaction design firm and specializes in designing screen-based interfaces for digital products. Screenroot has partnered with enterprise clients including ICICI Bank, Edelweiss, Tata Capital and TCS among others.

About India’s Best Design Awards

Instituted by POOL Magazine in 2015, "India’s Best Design Awards" are the first to recognize Design Studios for their professional work, business practices and transparency. INDI Design started publishing POOL Magazine in 2010 with the mission of bringing Indian talent in Design, Innovation, and Art into the limelight.

Goa Gets Startup Incubation Centre 'FiiRE' with ₹10 Crore Grant from DST

On Friday, Goa finally got a much needed startup and entrepreneurship incubation centre at Fatorda, Margao region. Named as Forum for Innovation Incubation Research and Entrepreneurship (FiiRE), the incubation centre was launched at Don Bosco College of Engineering, a Goa University affiliated institute established in 1970.

Established with the support of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India under the National Initiative to Develop and Harness Innovation, FiiRE is dedicated towards helping move the startup process from the garage to the laboratory.

"FiiRE aspires to be the ‘GO TO’ Technology Business Incubator in the country supporting one hundred startups by 2023," says the FiiRE website.

The incubation centre aims to implement a structured incubation process to make the startups invest-able and leverage the strengths of the ecosystem to help startups scale faster.

The incubation centre will get Rs 10 Cr grants from DST and Agriculture Department of Goa state government would provide FiiRE an additional Rs 25 lakh to be used for startup ventures dealing with agriculture.

Besides providing incubation and co-working space to startups and entrepreneurs in the state, FiiRE will also provide access to government funding agencies, Seed fund including access to Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists.

FiiRE is now inviting free pre-incubation offer and interested startup/entrepreneurs can apply here.

Last year in March, the state's chief minister Manohar Parrikar had announced allocation of Rs 15 crore budget for startups in Goa as well as a separate allocation of Rs 50 lakh to encourage incubation centres and entrepreneur development centres in the state.

Later in December of same year, Goa state government had also approved the land transfer of over 12,000 sqm belonging to the directorate of skill development and entrepreneurship for the purpose of creating a startup-related ecosystem in the state.

Source - Goa Chronicle

[Top Image - Weekend Travels]

State Govt Gives NoD To 12000 SqFt Land Transfer To Create Startup Ecosystem in Goa

Goa state government on Thursday approved the land transfer of over 12,000 sqm belonging to the directorate of skill development and entrepreneurship, to the department of information technology at Porvorim, Panaji for the purpose of creating a startup-related ecosystem in the state.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar said that the cabinet has approved the land transfer proposal. The cabinet note stated the government intends to make Goa as one of the most preferred startup destinations in India by developing a startup-related ecosystem that will feature among the top 25 startup destinations in Asia by 2025.

The government intends to develop an incubation, acceleration and co-working facility at Porvorim, thereby developing a startup ecosystem facility for technology startups in Goa.

Two plots admeasuring 4,073 sqm and 8,382 sqm at Porvorim, currently in possession of the directorate of skill development and entrepreneurship, have been transferred by the government.

The above development was first reported in Times of India.

In March this year, the state government had setup a startup promotion board and also allocated around ₹15 crore for startups.

Notably, for new businesses and startups, the state do have few incubators such as Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA), a public-private venture set up in April 2012 with support from Department of Science and Technology, government of India, and Department of Science, Technology and Environment, government of Goa.

Another incubator in Goa, set up by the Indian government's Department of Industries Trade and Commerce and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is the Goa IT Innovation Centre (GITIC), which mentors and facilitates funding for startups through low-cost infrastructure and access to business networks.

Goa To Set Up Startup Promotion Board; Allocates Rs 15 Crore

Though you not heard any startup based out Goa however the state's chief minister Manohar Parrikar has made his commitment to improve the state's performance on the ease of doing business ranking and for same Goa government will set up a startup promotion board in the coming financial year with the aim of creating 4,000 jobs per year.

Th state has also announced several measures for the information and technology sector, allocating Rs 169 crore for the IT sector, including Rs 15 crore for startups alone.

Moreover, Parrikar has also allocated Rs 50 lakh to encourage incubation centres and entrepreneur development centres in Goa.

Last year, when Parrikar was serving in portfolio of defense minister he said that Defence Ministry will help startups in Goa if asked for [read here]. Now that he is again the CM of Goa it will be interesting to see how he will associate defense minstry with startup ecosystem of Goa.

Goa do have some interesting startups such as 6Degrees, Inventrom and Armada, among others.

Notably, for new businesses and startups, the state do have few incubators such as Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA), a public-private venture set up in April 2012 with support from Department of Science and Technology, government of India, and Department of Science, Technology and Environment, government of Goa.

National Institute of Technology (NIT) Goa has been sanctioned a Startup centre with joint funding from Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The centre would host up to 10 Startups with financial, technical, and legal supports, every year.

Another incubator in Goa, set up by the Indian government's Department of Industries Trade and Commerce and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is the Goa IT Innovation Centre (GITIC), which mentors and facilitates funding for startups through low-cost infrastructure and access to business networks.

Meet MinionBot - the industrial robotic helper from Inventrom

[caption id="attachment_93734" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Team Inventrom with Prototype of Minion Bot[/caption]

 

Inventrom is a Robotics and Technology company based out of Goa. It was started in 2011 by Pranav Vernaker. Pranav says, "While we were in the final year of engineering, I and some of my colleagues started a Robotics company by name Accipion. We even conducted a few workshops, which generated capital for our product development projects. However the final product never materialized. Though it was a great experience and we learnt many lessons while starting up Inventrom." The foundation of Inventrom was laid when Pranav was pursuing his MBA at Goa Institute of Management.

This team of 5 engineers and MBA’s is currently involved in designing its first industrial robot, The Minion Bot. This robot is an industrial helper that can carry various parts and objects from one point to another. It can also act as a virtual conveyer belt. This robot is very easy to control and give instructions via any computer or a smart phone. The Robot transmits its own WiFi to which one can connect his computer or phone. The Robot has an ARM 11 mini-controller, which does the major intelligent processing part. The robot has a Linux OS running on it. It also has an Apache server and MySQL for database management. In addition to ARM 11 it also has an AVR ATmega 128 micro controller, which takes care of motion control and sensor data input. One can record instructions to control the robot’s movement and then it can continue to mimic the same.

[caption id="attachment_93733" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Kids learning advanced robotics concepts[/caption]

It also comes with powerful on board sensors which allow it to interact easily with external environment as well as monitor its performance. The obstacle detecting sensors help detect any objects or human coming in its path and accordingly maneuverer via the best possible path. It also has internal sensor like temperature sensors, position encoder to help it monitor its performance and ensure most optimum performance. The bot can automatically understand when load is placed on it or when it is removed using the load cell present on it which allows it to work fully autonomous.

The team already has 3 products out in the market which have been very popular.

TechnoBoard: It is an ATmega 32 based Robotics Development board which can be used to design different Robots by connecting various sensors and actuators to it. With 200 units already sold, this has become quiet popular with the students in Goa.



Zazu Wireless Programmer: It is a wireless module for communication between PC and Robot while the Robot is functioning. So it is a programmer and a wireless module bundled in one device. Instead of connecting and disconnecting a USB cable to PC and Robot every time you program, you can now wirelessly program the bot.
Insert Picture of Zazu here.



Topping Pi: Accessory to the Raspberry Pi board. It allows to connect various sensors (Like analogue and actuators which require higher voltage etc.).



Initial investment in Inventrom was Rs.1 lakh that came from Pranav’s savings. Post that the company has been self-funded. Workshops are currently their major revenue generator. They have successfully conducted workshops for our corporate clients such as TCS, Chowgules, NETZSCH, Persistent Systems Ltd apart from various colleges like as IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, BITS Pilani, BITS Goa, VIT. "We have also conducted workshops at conferences such as Nullcon, VLSI Society of India Symposium, BARCamp Goa," he added proudly. Inventrom has trained more than 1500 engineering students in the past 1 year.

[caption id="attachment_93731" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Design of Minion Bot[/caption]

We asked the founder why he did not go for investments (which would have been easy to get for such innovative products), and he said “Having investors in early stages would have meant unnecessary restrictions as well as an excessive run towards profit motives. The workshops bring in a steady flow of finances which led Inventrom fund their R&D for products. During my MBA studies at Goa Institute of Management one of our professor of Finances Mr. Ram showed us how it is more important to look at working capital for the startup to run rather than investments or assets. This learning has become the base of financial strategy at Inventrom.” Though now with some of their products already launched and the prototype of Minion Bot being ready with positive responses, the Team Inventrom is looking for suitable Investors in their firm.



Inventrom is currently a partner of the giant Microsoft Bizspark. The program provides us cloud server for our software like TechnoIDE. The company is looking at launching the Minion Bot by end of this year. “Our main focus till next year will remain on the Minion Bot promotion and marketing and ensuring sales of the same,” they said. They are also launching an online store to increase sales of our R&D products.

Pranav’s advice to future entrepreneurs is “Take up a job that you love to work on. Since you are going to spend a major time of their life of their job it is very important to choose what you enjoy doing.”

BITSians tackling the problem of Braille Literacy

Aman Srivastava and and Sanskriti Dawle, undergraduate students from BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus have always wanted to impact the lives of people in a big way. They developed Project Mudra. Mudra is a Braille dicta-teacher, which essentially tackles the problem of Braille literacy among the visually impaired. It is unique in its integration of speech recognition into tactile educational aids.

"Our motivation for this project has been the desire to go beyond 'just-for-fun' hacks,to make something with real-world application.", says Aman to IndianWeb2. Mudra is based on a raspberry pi and programmed in python. It achieves its speech recognition capabilities by using Google's speech API. The complete Braille hardware (Mudra currently has only one tactile Braille cell) was made completely by Aman and Sanskriti.

The device is actually the combinatin of - Raspberry Pi (a credit-card-sized single-board computer) + Python (a programming language) + braille hardware.

The startup is still looking for funds to start the pilot testing phase and release the product in open market for needy users. When launched, the device would cost around Rs.10,000.

How it Works?

Mudra has three modes: browse mode, auto mode and exam mode.

1) Browse mode: It works by converting speech input to tactile Braille output. The user is prompted for speech input

2) Auto mode: It takes the user through all alphabets via sequential audio-tactile output. Preloaded voice notes of alphabets are stored on the device. Simultaneously, voice notes are played and tactile output is generated.

3) Exam mode: A character is randomly generated on the tactile surface. The user is prompted to correctly guess the letter via speech input. Their answer is checked for correctness and if wrong, the device outputs the correct answer via audio.

[caption id="attachment_92863" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Co-Founders of Mudra - Aman Srivastava & Sanskriti Dawle[/caption]

The device being low cost is a big step in ensuring affordability. There are plenty of Braille based devices available in the market, but all of them assume the Braille literacy of the end user. So Mudra is important because Braille literacy rates are as low as 10% even in a developed country like the USA. "Learning Braille is tough (especially, developing tactile memory through repetition) and Project Mudra makes it significantly easier, intuitive and automated.", says Sanskriti.

Mudra has been presented at Python Conference, Montreal 2014, TEDx, and has been acknowledged by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as a novel use of the credit card sized computer. "We are in talks with people for industrial design, subsequent testing and further collaboration. We plan to make Mudra reach as far as possible and touch as many lives as possible.", says Aman.

You can also view their TED Talk below:

Simplify your life with ‘Wafer’ tag for your smartphones

Nagarjun is not just another student pursuing engineering in Goa, he is making products to 'Simplify our Lives'. This tech-freak (as he calls himself) has been working on 'The Wafer Tag' for the past 3 months and has been experimenting with Embedded Sytems, Arduino, Bluetooth, Wifi modules and RFID for the last 3 years.

Wafer is Indiegogo crowdfunded backed project and the Goa based startup company was founded just 4 months back. With the crowd funding campaign currently running on Indegogo.com for their first product 'The Wafer Tag', Nagarjun is confident about packaging and shipping their products from early august. In an interview with him, we learnt all about how The Wafer Tag can make so many things in our life so simple with just a tap.

Practical uses of an NFC tags are limitless, for example a Wafer NFC tag could be embedded into a political flyer. Tap the tag, and you're directed to a Web site touting a candidate's credentials. At the same time, you also instantly receive a snappy biography in the form of a text file and image or, at your favorite restaurants, you can touch your phone to an NFC tagged menu and voila you have the entire menu on your phone, along with nutritional information and mouth-watering descriptions of the ingredients in your favorite dishes.

"The wafer tag uses NFC. NFC (near field communication) is a short- range wireless technology which allows for the transfer of data between two NFC enabled devices. Almost all the smartphones have NFC. Our tag has a microchip that allows you to store data which can be accessed by any NFC-enabled device, when it is within range." He says.

One of the USP of Wafer tags over other existing NFC tags available in market is its cheapest price and also that it has more memory, maximum device compatibility and is customizable with your own text.

On asking how it makes things simple for the users, he said, "Like for example, sharing your contact with someone. We physically give away a business card, which can be easily misplaced and it is also cumbersome to keep so many business cards. The Wafer tag allows you to store your contact on it digitally and lets you share the contact via a simple tap using your phones NFC technology. This is just one of the many applications of the Wafer tag."

Wafer has worked on making their product excessively user friendly and secure where the user can lock their device and prevent overwriting/theft of data. The Wafer tag can store 512 Bytes of data and is cheaper than competitor products in the market with an option to customize it. Compability with all NFC Devices (old and new) and strong app support by Windows, Nokia, Android and Blackberry makes it a must have for everybody. This top notch product makes sharing, discovering, updating and managing things so much easier. It is versatile product and can be used in any environment, for any task.

A very down to earth and positive person, he strongly believes that Success is directly proportional to the efforts put into work. When asked about the difficulty faced while starting up, Nagarjun said "Indiegogo did give me a nice boost in the first week, however it got really hard when the traffic to the page decreased. We then had to get in touch with various tech enthusiasts who finally brought our campaign back on track. By crowd-funding our product we not only want to fund this project but want to build an audience for our company. An audience that will believe in us and help us build products that they will love." Nagarjun plans to recruit people once the project is crowd funded.