Groww Foundation to Support Over 100 Student Startup Teams Annually, Unveils Ist Cohort

Groww Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Groww, today announced the first cohort of the INV.ENT program, backing 19 ideas by 35 young innovators at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). The grants are the entry point of a program that will support over 100 student teams a year, with the strongest ones rewarded the Grand Challenge Fellowship with its larger, milestone-based support.

Chosen from nearly 400 submissions across disciplines, the ideas stretch across agri-tech, robotics, climate-tech, assistive-tech, retail, design, edtech, gaming and defence, several leveraging AI and ML to tackle the hitherto unsolved problems. The full portfolio of the selected ideas is at: growwfoundationiitb.org/portfolio

Across the cohort, the winning ideas range across a marketplace that takes ceramics from Dharavi's potters to customers, a wearable sleeve that coaches physiotherapy patients through their exercises, a platform that turns CO2 into edible protein and an AI system built to guard critical infrastructure against rogue drones.

The first cohort spans the program's two tracks. 3 student teams have been named the program's inaugural Grand Challenge Fellows and are eligible for milestone-based annual support of up to Rs 25 lakh each. The 16 remaining student teams enter the POC Support Track with a catalytic grant of Rs 30,000 each.

On top of the grant, this cohort will receive mentoring and a 15,000 sqft dedicated space, called Groww Innovation Space, located at IIT Bombay's Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE). This space will be used to build, test a core assumption, speak to real users and assemble a prototype, thereby allowing a steady influx of new ideas from students into this ongoing program that doesn't come with a submission deadline - just a commitment to fostering fearless innovation.

"At Groww Foundation, our mission since day zero has been to empower India's youth with opportunities to learn, build and innovate. INV.ENT is a program born out of that belief," said Kalpana Swaminathan, Head of Groww Foundation. "We see this as a launchpad, the place where young innovators get the mentorship, financial support and trust to take their first real shot, long before the world is watching. We're excited to work closely with this cohort of innovators as they turn their conviction into something real, and we hope to look back one day and call this the starting point for some of India's most impactful builders."

Reflecting on what the first INV.ENT cohort represents for student innovation at IIT Bombay, Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said, "At IIT Bombay, we believe that the distance between an idea and its impact is often determined by whether someone believes in it early enough. Our partnership with Groww Foundation through INV.ENT is built on that shared conviction. Young innovators deserve the freedom, resources, and encouragement to test bold ideas before the world expects results. Together, we are creating an ecosystem where students do not have to wait for permission to build. They can test, fail, learn, and move forward. That is how enduring innovation ecosystems are built."

Mukund and the Team BeBrust, one of the winning teams, shared, "The overall experience of selection has been really helpful in improving our clarity. We understood the caliber of the team. We are now more confident in the innovation of our idea and in our mission, opportunity, and ability to perceive and experiment. We are looking forward to getting a bigger network and being at least one year ahead of our plan."

TiE Delhi-NCR Concludes 1st Edition of Student Entrepreneurship Summit 2025 on a High Note, Showcasing Youth-Led Innovation and Startup Spirit

“Rules of sportsmanship also apply to entrepreneurship : Having self confidence and giving your 100%, blurring out the noise to achieve the goal"- Nehal Wadhera, Indian Cricketer, Punjab Kings (IPL Cricketer) at TiE Delhi-NCR’s Student Entrepreneurship Summit

TiE Delhi-NCR, at the forefront of India’s startup ecosystem and a flagship chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), concluded the inaugural edition of the Student Entrepreneurship Summit 2025. The event emerged as a powerful celebration of student innovation and ambition, bringing together over 400 students from more than 50 leading schools and colleges across India.

The summit served as a dynamic launchpad for aspiring entrepreneurs — a space where classroom learning met real-world experience. The full-day event featured keynote addresses, fireside chats, panel discussions, startup showcases, hands-on masterclasses, creating an immersive experience that inspired and empowered the next generation of changemakers.

“Two high-energy days packed with ideas, innovation, and inspiration — from proudly hosting the TYE Global Finals to launching the maiden Student Entrepreneurship Summit and showcasing brilliant prototypes at the Startup Showcase. At TiE Delhi-NCR, we’re proud to be the torchbearers of a national movement to nurture tomorrow’s founders through mentorship, exposure, and opportunity", said Upasana Sharma, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR.

A standout moment of the day was a fireside chat with Indian cricketer Nehal Wadhera, rising star of the IPL Team, Punjab Kings, who offered compelling insights on resilience, ambition, and mindset drawing parallels between sports and entrepreneurship. Speaking at the event he said- "Rules of sportsmanship also apply to entrepreneurship: Having self confidence and giving your 100%, blurring out the noise to achieve the goal”

The speaker lineup brought together an eclectic mix of founders, investors, professionals, and creators. R. Satya Narayanan, Founder & Chairman, CareerLauncher; Aurnob Godinho, Director of Brand,Bombay Shaving Company, Anoushka Jolly, Founder, Kavach App, Pankaj Bansal, Assistant Manager at National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI); Vineet Sagar, Managing Partner at Venture Garage & many more.

Throughout the day, students engaged directly with startup founders, venture capitalists, educators, and policymakers gaining valuable exposure to the inner workings of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Another major highlight of the day was TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Finals— TiE’s flagship global program for high school students, designed to nurture future founders through hands-on learning, leadership training, and startup building.

This year, TiE Delhi-NCR proudly hosted the TYE Global Finals, bringing together 16 top teams from TiE chapters across India. These student innovators pitched their business ideas to an esteemed jury, with the top 6 teams selected for the final round. All participating teams also showcased their working prototypes in a dynamic startup showcase, followed by rapid-fire Elevator Pitches that captured the essence of their ventures in minutes.

TiE Delhi-NCR's Team Syncora Wearables proudly secured a spot among the top 6 teams at the TYE Global Finals. Joining them on this prestigious list are Team Key Beauty and Team Kymavi from TiE Seattle, Team The Japa Store from TiE Udaipur, Team Fibre Flow from TiE Houston, and Team OOMI from TiE Rajasthan. These exceptional student-led ventures showcased the remarkable innovation and entrepreneurial talent emerging from TiE chapters across the world.

The TYE Global Finals featured a wide range of awards recognizing outstanding student ventures. Track Awards were presented across key categories for both India and USA tracks, including Best Customer Validation India TiE Ahmedabad (Breeze Power), TiE Rajasthan (OOMI), TiE Ahmedabad (Pellet Nova), Best Customer Validation US TiE Carolinas (Focus Drive), TiE Sillicon Valley (PAW SCAN), TiE DC (Safe Bytes) Best Business Model India was TiE Bangalore (Florascent), TiE Hyderabad (Familiar Faces) TiE Rajasthan & TiE Chennai (Stubblet & Watt Works), Best Business Model US TiE Boston (Inventrack), TiE Seattle (Key Beauty), TiE Tampa Bay (Slip Shield+) Best Execution India TiE Kolkata (Solayr), TiE Udaipur & TiE Vizag (The Japa store & Brainstorm Brigade) TiE Chandigarh (Intellilock), Best Execution US TiE Atlanta (Drive Quest), TiE Carolinas (Zone) Fiber Flow (TiE Houston) and Best Teamwork India TiE UP (Get My Team), TiE Kerala (S.M.A.R.T & isafe), Best Teamwork US TiE Seattle (Kymavi), TiE Houston (Step-In), TiE Dallas (Zen Buddy).Special Recognition Awards included the Winner of Maker Faire India TiE Rajasthan(OOMI), Winner of Maker Faire USA- TiE Carolinas ( Zone), and the Best Elevator Pitch Winner TiE Udaipur (The Japa Store) and Fibre Flow (TiE Houston). The event concluded with the Final Awards, announcing the 2nd Runner-Up TiE Rajasthan (OOMI), 1st Runner-Up TiE Seatle (Key Beauty), and the Winner of TYE Globals 2025 TiE Seattle (Kymavi).

The event concluded on a high note, leaving behind a renewed sense of purpose — to empower students to think boldly, act bravely, and build ventures that address real-world challenges with creativity, confidence, and compassion. This impactful initiative was made possible through the steadfast support of Amity University as the Academic Partner, co-powered by Sparkl and Gold sponsor - Career Launcher.

The Commerce Society of Hansraj College Unveils Early-Stage Symposium 2.0 for Early/ Ideation Stage Startups in India

The Entrepreneurship Cell of the Commerce Society, Hansraj College, is set to host “Early-Stage Symposium 2.0,” a pivotal event poised to revolutionize the start-up ecosystem within the Delhi University Circuit.

This symposium will afford aspiring entrepreneurs a rare opportunity to showcase their fledgling ventures or innovative concepts in the preproduct stage to distinguished venture capitalists and angel investors. These seasoned luminaries possess invaluable expertise and resources, capable of propelling fledgling ventures to unprecedented heights.

If you are trying to unleash the budding entrepreneur in you but struggling to find the perfect opportunity? Put your entrepreneurial skills to the ultimate test at "Vanijya Utsav’24" as we bring you the highly anticipated Early Stage Symposium 2.0.

Engage in thrilling challenges, brainstorm creative ideas, and craft innovative solutions. You'll also have the golden opportunity to pitch your decks directly top VCs and angel networks like Accel, Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels and more .

This is not just an event; it's a game-changer! Don't let it slip through your fingers. Register now using the link – http://bit.ly/ESS_24

For any queries, contact:
Vasu Garg: +91 76786 01942
Vaibhav Sharma: +91 95826 38323

Hansraj College is renowned for its diversified and strong alumni base, who through their rigor and hard work paired with the knowledge and values bestowed by the prestigious institution have left some unparalleled marks in their respective fields. A pioneer in the field of science and commerce, their premier institution has been accredited as the 2nd best college as per the recent NAAC grading ranking and the 9th best college in the Delhi University circuit. The students of the college are able to outperform their fellow mates due to the constant support from its revered faculty.

BITS/ IIMA Alums' VC Firm gradCapital Launches $6 Mn Fund to Invest $40K into Students Who Want to Create Large Companies

• Backed by key investors: CIIE, IIM-Ahmedabad, Alagu Periyannan, Ankur Warikoo, & Kanwal Rekhi.
• Post gradCapital cohort, 30% of companies raised an average follow-on of $600K
• Apart from a $6M fund, they also launched atomic fellowship: to give no-strings-attached grant of $5,000 to students who want to work on a science project that has the potential to become a company

gradCapital, started by BITS/ IIMA alums launched its second fund with a total fund size of $6M to invest in student startups.

gradCapital believes in students by offering a standard check: $40,000 for 4%, and funded students get to be part of a 4-week cohort in Bangalore where they meet the people who have made a dent in the world previously. Tarun Mehta (Co-founder, Ather Energy), Shashank (Co-founder, Razorpay), Kailash Nadh (CTO, Zerodha) - are some people who have engaged with students in their cohort.

Most companies raise their next round post gC cohort, and follow-on investors include Lightspeed & Rainmatter Capital.

They fund people all year round, get around 3000 applications a year, and fund around 20 a year. Getting in is hard obviously, but it’s worth a shot.

In a statement about the fund launch, Abhishek, Co-founder & CEO said, “We are not in the business of finding and investing in deals, we are in the business of letting students be more ambitious and build a future, despite having a challenging education system. Being a student also has an unfair advantage: building with friends, not being scared of thinking big, and being scrappy/ fast with their project. How many experienced people can do that? It’s a systemic failure when ambitious students aren’t able to take off while in college, and they end up taking a job because of a loan, and become too rational. After which, they are more likely to start a D2C company instead of a quantum computer, and we need more of the latter.”

gradCapital loves funding teams who have started companies from projects, especially science & engineering projects. They launched a grant program - atomic fellowship - where they want to distribute $5,000 grants to students with technical projects that have the potential of becoming companies. It’s supported by Emergent Ventures, which is backed by Peter Thiel. It will be run by Kshitij (Co-founder at Pixxel) and gradCapital.

Previous batch of gC founders sharing their journey to the new batch

In 2021, gradCapital was started by 2 friends in the dorm too, at IIMA. Then, gradCapital conducted a cohort of 5 teams to help them get into YC, and Zepto was a part of it. gradCapital then raised a $1M fund to deploy into 18 companies, and the fund is running at ~2x its initial value within 18 months.

There are few stories that were part of gradCapital. 

They believe that students will change the world, if they are supported at the right time. A small event of an outsider believing in them with money and faith, can permanently change their trajectory. This can snow-ball into them creating large companies where they keep moving forward and finding bigger backers.

Naman Pushp, founder of Airbound (airbound.co), was 16 (and in school) when gradCapital funded him with $25K. He had a computer simulation of the drone he wanted to build, and an aspiration to quit college to build a large delivery company. Eventually he dropped out from college, and by the time he was 18, raised a $1.7M round led by Lightpseed.

Ritvik, co-founder of Ripen (ripen.in), was graduating from SRCC when he applied to gradCapital. He wanted to build social apps that help people navigate adulthood despite being from a commerce college, and had to go against the norms. Heet and Aviral joined the mission and they raised a $525K pre-seed led by Good Capital and Rainmatter.

Akshay, Anesh, Akshat, and Ankit were 3rd year students in an engineering college with an MVP to help people improve their speech using AI: Stimuler (stimuler.tech). By the time they were graduating from college, they got multiple YC Interviews and raised a large seed round from investors hailing from top Silicon Valley, Japan & India investors.

The world of VC has to change - it has to be truly risk optimised, and India has to come at the forefront of creating cutting edge products. gradCapital is advocating for capital to a place which has been underserved but has the potential to change the world.

iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad and Greenko Group Launches New BUILD Program to Support Studentpreneurs across India

BUILD Program launch at Technology Innovation Park, IITH

• Supporting 75 students led innovations across India
• Financial aid up to INR 1 lakh per innovator
• Funding provided by Greenko
• Implemented in collaboration with 14 incubators across India
• 12-month program by iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad
• Technology solutions to sustainability is the key focus

iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad, in collaboration with Greenko Group, has launched a new program called Bold & Unique Ideas Leading to Development (BUILD) on the emblematic occasion of World Environment Day on June 05, 2023. The program was launched at IIT Hyderabad by Dr Anil Chalamalasetty, MD and CEO, Greenko Group and Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, in the presence of Dr A S Kiran Kumar (former Chairman, ISRO), Faculty of IITH and Partner Incubators. The primary objective of BUILD is to support undergraduate students and recent graduates to give shape to their innovative ideas and eventually turn them into a startup.

Under this BUILD initiative, iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad signed an MoU with 14 incubators pan India to promote the BUILD program and to scout, shortlist and support 75 innovators. i-TIC Incubator has launched a national call for applications on its website. Benefits to selected innovators include financial aid of up to INR 1 lakh, mentorship, prototyping support and co-working space. At the end of the 12-month program, innovators could get a chance for pre-incubation support and further grants at iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad.

Innovators can apply from the iTIC website: https:itic.iith.ac.in/build, with the deadline being July 5, 2023.

Prof IITH (L) and Dr Anil (R) exchanging MoU on BUILD Program by iTIC IITH & Greenko Group

Announcing the program’s launch, Prof B S Murty, Director IITH, said, “BUILD scheme has been in place at IITH for its own students for the past 3 years. After building the Technology Innovation Park (TIP) with about 1.5 lakh sqft, we felt that it is time for us to extend the BUILD program to the whole nation. With Innovation as its DNA, IITH believes in developing job creators instead of job seekers. By supporting such innovators from their student days, the BUILD Scheme provides a suitable platform for these young innovators to convert their ideas into successful products, thus aiding our urge towards making India self-reliant (Atmanirbhar) and a global leader.

Conveying his best wishes for the success of the initiative, Dr Anil Chalamalasetty, MD and CEO, Greenko Group, added, “BUILD program represents a remarkable milestone in our collective journey towards creating a vibrant ecosystem that nurtures and amplifies the innovation and creative genius of our youth. The BUILD program is a testament to our unwavering belief in the power of ideas.’’

Dr A S Kiran Kumar, (former Chairman, ISRO) congratulated iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad and Greenko Group for such a unique initiative and said, “BUILD program is like seeds of growth and initiatives like this are vital to support which will turn into branches and eventually trees.’’

About iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad

iTIC is a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Technology Hydwerabad (IITH) and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. iTIC is a Not-For-Profit Society that focuses on creating a supportive and nourishing environment for budding entrepreneurs in the field of technology. The focus areas of iTIC incubator are Deep tech sectors such as Healthcare, AI/ML, Quantum Computing, AR/VR, Cybersecurity, Robotics, IOT, Industry 4.0, Blockchain, Electronics, Advanced materials, Drones, Biotechnology, etc.

iTIC aims to help entrepreneurs leverage a premier quality research and startup ecosystem with the goal of building a comprehensive platform to practice innovation and entrepreneurship so that these entrepreneurial ideas can be turned into sustainable, scalable profit-making business ventures. iTIC provides support to startups such as Mentoring, Financial Aid, IP Support, Networking, and access to Dedicated office/ Coworking space, Software, IITH Technological Infrastructure, and Makerlab. Since its inception in 2015, iTIC has supported 130+ startups through Pre-incubation, Incubation, and Acceleration programs and has sanctioned more than INR 8 crores to startups directly while supporting the startups in raising more than INR 50 crores from external sources. So far, the iTIC startups have generated more than INR 1200 crores of revenues and created 1000+ jobs.

About IIT Hyderabad:

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is one of the eight IITs established by the Government of India in 2008. In a short span of 15 years, the institute has become a one of the top ranked institutions in the country and has received global recognition. It has 300+ full-time faculty, ~4,200 students, 18 Departments + 1 Centre for Interdisciplinary Programs, nearly 500+ state-of-the-art Research Facilities, and five research and entrepreneurship centres. The institute has a strong research focus with approx. Rs ~880 crores of sanctioned research funding, with PG+PhD students accounting for about 60% of total student strength. IITH has more than 8100+ research publications with 1,30,000+ Citations, 190+ Published Patents, 2,200+ sponsored/consultancy projects with 500+ running projects, and about 125+ startups that have generated 1000+ jobs and a revenue of Rs. 800+ Cr. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Koo and YouTube for the latest updates. To know more, please visit https://www.iith.ac.in/.

A Unique Summit of 20 Students Led NGOs Held at T-Hub

Foundation Summit, a unique summit of Student Led NGOs held at T-Hub (there is no connection to T-Hub, except the venue). Twenty Youth Lead, in the age group of 16 to 21 years old participated. All must all of them are studying and also running these NGOs. 

The Kashmir Files producer Abhishek Agarwal, Shanta Thoutham from Telangana State Innovation Cell; Ritu Shah, Chairperson of FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO), Ms Shubhra Maheshwari, Past Chairperson FLO, Mr Sumer Jain, MD of Four Wheel Travels and others graced.

Addressing the youth at the Vibhegia Summit, Abhishek Agrawal, producer of The Kahsmir Files said Teens too are socially aware. This is the new India, the young India, they like to come out and serve. The emerging society is full of challenges to overcome, and youth is the answer for a promising tomorrow, he said.

Despite being busy with the inaugural of the Secretariat, I am here for some takeaways, the youth are promising. We need more of these change-makers, they are the future of our world said Shanta Thoutham from Telangana State Innovation Cell.

Seen 20 student led startup founders

The 20 student-led non-profits include A Teenager's Interests; Bizz.connect; Miles and smiles; The Khayal Foundation; Whelve; Learning Space Foundation; MNR Organisation; M Group Realtors; Dhruvansh; Meraki Bizz Connect; Naari, women wellness initiative; Touch A Life Foundation; JMB Learning; Bina Singh Foundation; Hygeia and Vibhaag. 

The initiative named VIBHGEIA, the half-day FOUNDATION SUMMIT was organized by two leading student-led non-profitable foundations. It was rare to bring all these non-profit organizations together under one platform. It was an opportunity for all the other nonprofitable organizations to share their mission and impact the audience.

The event held in the evening. Twenty NGOs participated and also put up stalls. They set up their stalls, propagated their causes, and missions, and spread the messages. Three foundations were chosen from the networking session to speak. Awards were presented to the deserving few. 

The aim of this conference was to network, share, care, learn, collaborate, and make an impact to society unlike before said NGO Vibhaag Foundation’s, Founder, Ashmit Tainwala, and Bhuvit Hisariya founder of HYGEIA.

Ashmit and Bhuvit the organisers of the summit

Vibhaag Foundation is a student-run foundation led by Ashmit Tainwala. It raised funds in the past for a Charitable Clinic for Women and Children in a Slum area run by the Lions Club of Hyderabad Petals. Even the Medicines required to run the clinic for one year were arranged by a student-run NGO.

Bhuvit Hisariya, 17 years is a founder of HYGEIA and is a 12th class at Chirec. We work for better health for all. It is a one-year-old voluntary organization. Organized many health camps and impacted 1000 people. Moved by people suffering, I decided to be of some service to the society says Bhuvit.

Microsoft Invests $150K in An Engg. Student Founded Startup SCOPE, Selected for the Incubator Program

Given that the program has an acceptance rate between 1% and 3%, SCOPE has proved its mettle against millions of other startups emerging in the market

SCOPE will receive benefits like mentorship, access to startup-friendly offers from Microsoft and powerful development tools, including GitHub and Microsoft 365

Making substantial strides in the fast-evolving and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, SCOPE, a pioneering and holistic new-age platform for budding entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors and industry experts, has added another feather to its cap. The brand has been selected for the Microsoft Startup Incubator Program, which includes an investment of USD 150K. Considering the program has an acceptance rate between 1% and 3%, SCOPE’s selection is a testament to its growth, progress, and potential.

Appalla Saikiran, Founder & CEO of SCOPE

Being backed by Microsoft for the tech giant’s Incubator Program comes with several high-end benefits, which will now be at SCOPE’s disposal. This includes access to productivity and development tools including GitHub and Microsoft 365, mentorship opportunities from business leaders and technical maestros and passage to pro-startup offers from Microsoft partners. The Startup Incubator Program is renowned for providing access to technology, go-to-market and community benefits to emerging startups to expand their operational base.

Appalla Saikiran, Founder and CEO of SCOPE, said, “This opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time for SCOPE. We are thrilled to be a part of the Microsoft Startup Incubator Program and plan to make the best of this window. At SCOPE, while we are gradually progressing and growing, there are a few critical areas where we need the guidance of experts to ensure long-term success. The program promises everything we require, including crucial funding, mentorship opportunities, productivity and development tools. We are optimistic that this milestone in SCOPE’s journey will accelerate its growth trajectory.”

About SCOPE

Everyone aspires to be an entrepreneur. It is regarded as a badge of honour. At the end of the day, however, it is a long journey without a map. To be successful, one must be a self-starter who maintains a constant sense of optimism and passion for one's own ideas. That's where SCOPE comes into the scene as a social media platform that opens up new doors to various aspects of the global start-up ecosystem.

Headquartered in Hyderabad, SCOPE, the brainchild of young entrepreneur Appalla Saikiran, strives to empower change-makers in the start-up ecosystem through 3Cs - Connect, Collaborate, and Create – to encourage, inspire, and guide aspiring entrepreneurs in their quest to turn their dreams into reality.
SCOPE is unique in its customer-centricity and focus on delivering value to its patrons. It has aligned its success with its customers, who only pay for performance in the services they select and when results are delivered. The brand ensures complete value for the user's money.

In its capacity, SCOPE is reimagining the potential of a networking platform and envisions becoming the world's largest platform which acts as a catalyst for opportunities for the global start-up ecosystem. Over the next few years, the company aims to emerge as one-stop shop for entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and working professionals.

 
A teen Telangana-based entrepreneur, Saikiran founded SCOPE at the age of just 17. He is currently a first-year BTech Data Science student at Manipal University, Jaipur. Even before crossing the threshold of his teen years, Saikiran is already leading a prosperous professional career. He completed his Junior CEO program certified by Brown University. He also received the monumental Global Kids Achievers Award for developing SCOPE’s avant-garde application. He was also one of the top-100 students across India selected by Google to visit their office.

Through SCOPE, Saikiran is committed to initiating a common platform where people can connect, collaborate and create together with like-minded people. The platform will help the younger generation to take charge of their lives, summon opportunities instead of waiting. It is the brainchild of a teenager striving to create a revamped networking platform that directly impacts numerous lives.

WE HUB Graduates the 1st Cohort of Students Innovators through its WE Alpha Program

Twelve student-led teams moved from the idea stage to creating prototypes in the fields of Agriculture & Sustainability, EV & Automation and Deep-Tech. They will be supported in registering as DPIIT Recognized startups.

WE HUB start-ups provided internship opportunities to selected participants to enable them to get a feel of entrepreneurship.

WE HUB, India’s first and only state-led incubator by the Government of Telangana to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start-up, scale-up and accelerate with global market access graduated announced the graduation of its first cohort of students who moved from idea/innovator to entrepreneurs. The student entrepreneurship program christened “WE Alpha” takes college students through creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, which are key pillars of the National Education Policy (NEP2020). The program focused on a curated curriculum & hands on learning to impart creative & critical thinking approaches towards Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The high-quality program selected 12 student teams across six colleges from Telangana.

The first cohort for WE ALPHA included students from engineering and humanities colleges. The program kicked off with Training of the Faculty, from the selected colleges to hone their skills for creating effective outcome driven Incubation programs, Entrepreneurship training spaces for students as part of the New Education Policy. These selected student teams were taken through an in-person eight-week program, encompassing the ideation, technical mentoring, design knowledge, business skills, interpersonal skills, team building skills and communication skills. They also had an opportunity to pitch for internships with WE HUB-incubated startups to enable students to progress in their journey as entrepreneurs. 

The program culminated with 12 teams developing prototypes. The teams will be supported by WE HUB to register with DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) as startup companies.

Mr Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Telangana (IT E&C) said “One of the key focus areas for us in the Government of Telangana is to ensure that we can spur innovative & entrepreneurial thinking in students including from schools across Telangana. Inculcating innovative thinking at the student stage will spur the innovation mindset throughout their career and ensure the participation of Girls and young women in the Economy of Telangana. Students are and will continue to be an important pillar in transforming the economy of Telangana to Quaternary sectors, where innovation is the backbone. We would like to encourage all the colleges across Telangana to engage with the Telangana innovation ecosystem through programs like WE Alpha. Congratulations to the 12 student’s teams and we are looking forward to supporting them as they scale further in their journey”

Ms Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB said, “Over the past 4 years of the inception of WEHUB, we have been working on enabling a funnel where we can have more Women enter the fields of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. WE HUB has created WE Alpha with a focus on students not only learns about Entrepreneurship but also how to learn, Emphasis of the curriculum design of WELPHA was to enable students to think critically and solve problems, be creative and multidisciplinary, and to innovate, adapt, and absorb new material in the novel and changing fields. We are glad that the 12 ideas that have been selected are all on their path to the next stage of their innovation journey which is Entrepreneurship & registered startups.

Applications for the next cohort of WE Alpha are now open, and colleges and students are invited to apply by reaching out to us on info-wehub@telangana.gov.in

The deadline for the same is 15 August 2022.

About WE HUB:

WE HUB is the first-of-its-kind and only state-run platform for women entrepreneurs by the Government of Telangana. WE HUB supports women entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, solutions and entities focusing on emerging areas in technology and allied sectors. WE HUB also supports under-explored/unexplored sectors, such as FMCG, retail and e-commerce, including the service sector. The mandate and goal of WE HUB are to eliminate financial and societal barriers for women and help them succeed in their enterprises. 

WE HUB aims to create a supportive community for aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs where they can interact with venture capitalists for funding, connect with corporates for scaling their business, get advice from mentors to fine-tune ideas and benefit from technical mentoring.

India Sends Three Student Teams to the Asia Pacific Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge Competition

Over 450 students participated in the Indian FedEx / Junior Achievement (JA) International Trade Challenge Competition

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world's largest express transportation company, together with tGELF/JA, announced the three winning teams at the second FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge India National Competition. The annual competition recognizes student-run businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity, with selected teams moving on to compete at the APAC (Asia Pacific) level.

Over a period of five months, the phased competition featured a series of virtual workshops attracting more than 450 students from 33 schools across India. The workshops included interactive learning sessions, inspirational talks, and mentoring from FedEx, tGELF/JA India, and industry experts on key concepts of building market entry strategies and global trade.

The three student teams identified to represent India in the Asia Pacific FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge Competition later this year are —

1. Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon, 
2. The Shri Ram School Aravali, Gurgaon,
3. Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr Secondary School, Chennai. 

To foster cross-cultural collaboration at the APAC competition, the Indian students will be re-grouped into new teams comprising of participants from more than 10 Asia Pacific member nations. This change in team structure gives students a dynamic platform to share experiences with participants from other locations, gain global perspectives, and encourages collaborative thinking.

Mohamad Sayegh, Vice President, India Operations for FedEx Express said, “Entrepreneurship has been a part of our DNA since FedEx was founded in 1973, and I’m inspired to see these talented young people build business models to address challenging real-world problems. India is home to a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem that drives transformation with new ideas and solutions. Through the International Trade Challenge, FedEx aims to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of enterprising students, whose ideas have the potential to prepare India and the world for what’s next. We wish them the very best as they move to the next round of the competition.”

Maziar Sabet, President and CEO of JA Asia Pacific said, “A very important element of the ITC competition is the evolution of traditional classroom learning to real-life, hands-on experience, and I have no doubt that this experience will prove invaluable and serve our students from India now and in the future. JA’s mission to prepare young people for the 21st century workplace has never been more relevant and our belief in our future leaders in India has never been stronger.”\

GlobalShala Announces the Winners of "Superhero U" An Innovative Social Entrepreneurship Competition for Young Students

Contest inspired by UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030

Broad participation from Asia, Africa, the United States, and the Middle East

Awarded scholarships, trips, and prizes worth $90,000

Anushika Jain, Founder & CEO, GlobalShala

GlobalShala, an EdTech venture that offers affordable experiential learning opportunities worldwide, has announced the winners of its multinational “Superhero U” competition, design in partnership with Northeastern University, USA, to inspire student’s inventiveness and intensify their imagination to envision how to make the world a better place.

Pre-college and college students were asked to invent a “superhero” capable of tackling one of the global social challenges outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 Link: https://sdgs.un.org/. Individuals and groups employed descriptions, drawings, illustrations, animations, and multimedia presentations to bring their creations to life. Five key SDG themes emerged: peace, prosperity, people, planet, and partnerships. The superheroes were designed to cultivate a force of forward-thinking and social entrepreneurship.

More than 1,400 entries were submitted by students from 88 regions and countries, including India, the United States, Nigeria, Iran, and Africa, among others. Candidates received one-on-one mentorship and support to guide them through any odds or challenges from the industry experts, special guest advisors, and judges on-board during the evaluation process.

The winners of the contest were selected from 87 finalists and announced in a global webinar.

The winners of the Superhero U contest were Carolina Carvalho from Brazil under the College Category (Superhero Name – Concienza Women) and Joey Sparks & Team from US under the High School Category (Superhero Name – Earthanater). 

The winners received a full paid trip to New York with a potential visit to the UN Headquarters and, to add to the excitement, they were awarded $10,000 worth of scholarships and the opportunity to bring their Superhero to life, along with custom-made Superhero U merchandise, badges, virtual internship, and $200 gift cards.

Additional prizes were awarded in the special mention and high commendation categories. Winners in the special mention category were guaranteed scholarships worth up to $2,500 along with Superhero U merchandise and badges, along with guaranteed virtual internship opportunities. High commendation category winners were awarded a scholarship worth $5,000, merchandise, badges, a virtual internship, and $100 gift cards.

Anushika Jain, Founder & CEO, GlobalShala said,

Both the winners thought behind the building of their respective Superhero evolved around abuse from the power to the powerless. The deep philosophy and thought, enlighten us on how our youth envision themselves working towards a greater cause in their way of life forward and meet the unmet needs, and bridge the social need gap. The larger mission behind the Superhero U contest was to create an experiential education system that empowers the youth and the educators to build their dream with the help of lifelong learning. With the power of express, explore, experience, and engage, GlobalShala steps towards creating a sustainable global learning ecosystem with the mission to support the future change-makers.

The judges of this competition extended gratitude to all the participants for having the awareness and the empathy to recognize the larger problem that our society is living in and envisioning a futuristic yet realistic and enforceable approach to work on resolving the larger social issue. According to them, the work presented shows the willingness to inspire the youth, and the current generation can be a strong motivation for the participants to continue thinking inspirationally and out of the box. For a better world, it's important for young students to continue staying focused to address the problem of sustainability and to gain valuable experience and life skills.

The competition has been a 9-month, experiential learning journey for all the stakeholders involved in making this “Superhero U” contest a huge success. This allowed all the participants to bring out their social entrepreneurship from within and catalyse their creative thinking and innovation to design and look at the world from the eyes of the vulnerable to solve a global problem with their superhero.

GlobalShala hopes to continue aspiring the youth across the world to create their Superhero and aim towards transforming these creative ideas into action plans for global development and inspire change in the way we view the problems around us.

About GlobalShala:

GlobalShala is an experiential learning platform equipping students and educators with 21st-century skills through lifelong learning opportunities in addition to sustainable competitions and virtual internships designed by world-class universities.

Link: https://globalshala.com/

Hyderabad Student Startup team ‘FindR’ declared the second best in TYE Global Finals conducted by TiE Seattle, win $1500 Prize Money

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Hyderabad Team ‘FindR’ stood out as a Runner Up at the TiE Young Entrepreneurs Global 2020, the virtual grand finale conducted by TIE Seattle was held on Sunday, the team won prize money of $1500 and generated investors interests.

In this 11^th anniversary edition of the TYE Global jointly organized by TiE Seattle & TiE Global, 32 teams representing TiE chapters from around the world participated virtually on July 17-18th July, 2020. These teams were previously the chapter winners and then mentored to participate in the Global Competition for a cash award of $10000 shared by top 3 teams. After a qualifier round on 17th July, 8 teams were selected for the finals held on 18^th. Teams get 10 minutes to pitch to an eminent Jury panel connected via a video conference. At the Global Final Competition, students compete in teams, create business plans and present their solutions virtually to a panel of judges. TYE 2020 also had a “Maker’s Faire”, “Elevator Pitch”, “Business Model”, Execution”, “Customer Validation” and “Team Work “competition.

Team FindR representing TiE Hyderabad chapter was declared the Winners of the Regional Business Plan Competition held in Jan 2020 for their innovative idea FindR, A LinkedIn-like solution for blue collar jobs including the provision of maids, cleaners, drivers for customers.

The 5 student member team FindR represented by N Hasvanth Reddy from Delhi Public School, G Srilasya from FIITJEE, Samhitha T from The Future Kid’s School, Ishan Amit and Mihir Boppana from Oakridge International School after being declared Global Runners Up now expressed their joy stating ““We dedicated our victory to the TIE Mentors, Parents and TiE Hyderabad team. It was their relentless guidance, and support even during the lockdown time due to the COVID pandemic that led to our triumph. We are eager to further shape this business idea and start our venture. This team was guided throughout the program by advisors Swastik Bihani of Paypal and Murali Bukkapatnam of The Skilling Company.”

Congratulating the winning team Sridhar Pinnapureddy, CMD of CtrlS and President - TiE Hyderabad said "These are benchmarking global scale startup stories from Hyderabad. We are committed to nurturing, shaping, and hand-holding startups like FindR, to grow their idea, giving them much needed guidance and mentoring to compete at a global stage. TiE Hyderabad has a fantastic team of mentors who dedicate their time and effort to grow and strengthen the startup ecosystem. We are proud of these young talented entrepreneurs.

This is a complete team effort put forward by the TYE Program Co-chairs and Board Members Venkatesh Narasimhan, Senior Director Silicon Labs and Viiveck Verma Founder of Upsurge Global, who helped them to grow their idea, giving them thorough guidance and mentoring the students over the last few months to compete at a global stage. He added.

Hosted by TiE Seattle Virtually, TYE student participants were inspired by the keynote address by Mr. Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé, Chairman of Sacramento Kings, NBA Team and Founder of TIBCO Software a multi-billion-dollar computing major from Silicon Valley.

iDentistry, An AI based image recognition app to self-diagnose dental flaws team from TiE Dallas is the second runner up. BWI (Boxed Water Initiative), A company that provides eco-friendly boxed water as a promotional product from TiE Atlanta Chapter grabbed the first prize at TYE Globals 2020. We congratulate all the winners and participants.

TYE (TiE Young entrepreneurs) is a TiE Global initiative dedicated to chapters integrating classroom sessions, mentoring and business plan competition aimed at High School students (grades 9-12 or equivalent college students are allowed). TYE is designed to teach high school students entrepreneurship and leadership skills. The TYE program is designed for a 16-week period, which includes classroom instruction, design thinking workshops, mentoring support for business plan development, and culminates with business plan competition.

At the core, TYE is developed to encourage the Entrepreneurial Mind-set from an early age and provide insight into Entrepreneurship and instill confidence to lead in a global environment.

About TiE Hyderabad: TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is a go-to network of 15000+ global entrepreneurs across 63+ cities in 14+ countries, and Hyderabad is a vibrant and most recognized chapter worldwide, each year TiE Hyderabad impacts over 1100 start-ups and 6400+ students, conducts 131+ of events & activities under 20+ themes viz. TiE Grad, TiE Young Entrepreneurs, TYE Summer, Open Mic, Mentor Advisor, Deeptech SIG, Investor Connect, Knowledge Series, Leadership Series & My Story to encourage, nurture next-generation entrepreneurs.

During the last few Months TiETalks a virtual webinar series is sharing relevant information to over 2500+ virtual attendees a month. TiE organization comprises successful entrepreneurs & accomplished professionals, volunteering to support start-ups, with an aim of fostering entrepreneurship across industries, at every stage of the entrepreneurial life cycle. Handholding start-ups & enterprises to the next level of growth through mentoring, education, funding & connecting customers, fostering Women and Student Entrepreneurship initiatives in a big way. 

Hyderabad Student Team Findr, a LinkedIn for Blue-Collar Jobs, Wins 10th Edition of TiE Young Entrepreneurs B-Plan Competition

36 students from 23 schools formed 7 teams and pitched their ideas at the TYE Grand Finale 2019-22 B-Plan, 1 Minute Elevator Pitch and Maker Faire Prototype competition

• 1 Min Elevator Pitch Winner: Comfee, a power conservation solution and PuriFloat, a lake cleansing device declared joint winners in the 1-minute elevator pitch segment


• Maker Faire Prototype winner: RewardBox, a mobile application that unifies the reward points a customer earns across various brands under one roof, adjudged the best Prototype, in the Maker Faire round for their quality prototype


• B- Plan Winner: Findr, a LinkedIn-like solution for blue-collar jobs including the provision of maids, cleaners, drivers for customers won the top honor in the B-Plan competition

TiE Hyderabad announced today the winners of the 10th edition of TYE (TiE Young Entrepreneurs) challenge held for 3 categories, B-Plan, 1 Minute Elevator Pitch and Maker Faire Prototype. The finale was held at the auditorium of Dr. B R Ambedkar Open University in the city on Saturday.

In the TYE challenge, 36 students from 23 schools formed 7 teams and pitched their ideas under the B-Plan, 1 Minute Elevator Pitch and Maker Faire Prototype competition.

The top prize winner in the B-Plan category was Findr, a LinkedIn-like solution for blue-collar jobs including the provision of maids, cleaners, drivers for customers and the runner up team was Flobal, a business idea where flower-flavored ice creams are made of organic ingredients had bagged the runner-up position.

In the Maker Faire category for best prototypes, RewardBox, a mobile application that unifies all the loyalty points a customer earns through his purchases at several stores across the country and alerts the user of their expiry, emerged as the winner.

It was a close contest in 1-minute elevator pitche as 2 teams Comfee and PuriFloat were declared joint winners held using an online voting method.

Comfee is a power conservation solution regulated by an IoT device that controls the speed of fans and air conditioners based through measurement of ambient temperature in the room, while PuriFloat, is an automated device that helps clean lakes using an Electric motor run boat/conveyor were declared joint winners.

The jury members at the TYE Finale were Deepthi Ravula (CEO, Telangana Government-run Women Entrepreneurship Incubator We Hub), Kishore Uppalapati (Director-Operations, Microsoft Services), Rakesh Munnanooru (Founder, CEO, Whistle Drive, a corporate ride-share company) besides Prof. Vijaya Kumari (Director, JNTU run incubator, J Hub) and Vineel Reddy Pindi (CEO, Collab House an innovation hub).

The winners had faced a stiff challenge, as there were a series of interesting pitches, such as Enviros Amigos, a device that could recycle plastic waste into oil through a chemical procedure called pyrolysis, Idenico, an affordably priced paper strip to test for adulteration, contamination or chemical presence in milk.

Congratulating the winners, and their scalable business models President of the TiE Hyderabad Chapter, Sridhar Pinnapureddy, (CEO of CtrlS Datacenters and Cloud4C Services) said, “It took me a couple of failed ventures to actualise my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. The business ideas of these young minds are nothing short of billion-dollar proposals with the potential to emerge as mega enterprises. It is for them to now leverage on the networks such as TiE to reach their pinnacle. These children are the future of our entrepreneur ecosystem and it is heartening these children have the backing of their family to pursue entrepreneurial dreams.”

“We were genuinely surprised by the professionalism of the teams and the relevance of the ideas. They surpassed our expectations and reaffirms our faith in our young generation potential to create a promising future” the jury members had expressed.

Also speaking at the event, program co-chair Mr. Venkatesh Narasimhan, SVP, Redpine Signals Inc said, “It’s really energising when we see bright, young minds gearing up for entrepreneurship at such an impressionable age. The way the youngsters have picked up concepts like revenue models, marketing, value proposition within minutes in the workshops speaks a lot about their interest to grasp the subject.”

Says the co-chair Mr. Viiveck Verma, CSO, Srinivasa Farms, “This program is very important for youngsters to help them change the way they look at the society and how they solve the problems existing in it. It’s significant to note that most ideas presented by the participants in the event had taken stock of immediate issues that affect us as the citizens of the country. It’s delightful to watch a new future being shaped by them.”

The Executive Director of TIE Hyderabad Phani Pattamatta on what next, said “The winner of the TYE Regional Finals would now compete at TYE Global Finals title against 35+ teams coming from 14 countries at Microsoft campus in Seattle, USA in June Month. He also recalled; Hyderabad chapter of TiE holds a record of consecutively winning at this global competition for the past 3 years in a row.”

About TYE Program: TiE Hyderabad runs two seasons of TYE program, one in Summer it starts in April and ends in June every month. The current season started in October 2019 and close to 40 students underwent a rigorous curriculum on entrepreneurship and learned business concepts through several classroom sessions over the weekend workshops and few weeks of mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, the Charter Members of TiE Hyderabad. This is the one program of global class that is completely run by practicing entrepreneurs to nurture aspiring young students.

Grand Finale B-plan competition Winners Details:

Winners - Findr was declared the Winner of the B-Plan round in the grand finale of the 10th edition of TYE 2019-20. Team Findr members were :

• N Hasvanth Reddy- Delhi Public School


• G Srilasya - FIITJEE


• Mihir Chowdary - Chaitanya Vidyalaya


• Samhitha T - Future Kids


• Ishan Amit - Oakridge

Runners up - Flobal declared the runners-up of the B-Plan round in the grand finale of the 10th edition of TYE 2019-20.

[caption id="attachment_141468" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Dr. Balaji Bhyravbhatla(Mentor, Flobal, MD, HyLasCo BioTechnology), N Venkatesh(TYE Program Co-Chair), Shrilekha J(Bharatiya Vidyalaya), Hitha Nalla(Future Kids), Sridhar Reddy(President, TiE Hyderabad; CMD - CtrlS), Aditya Manoj( Gitanjali), Amogh P(Chirec Public School), Viiveck Verma(TYE Program Co-Chair), Swapan G(Chirec Public School)) Phani Pattamatta(ED, TiE Hyderabad)[/caption]

Team Flobal members were

1. Hitha N - Future Kids


2. Swapan – Chirec


3. Shrilekha J - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School


4. Hesham Babukhan -International School


5. Aditya M Krishna – Gitanjali


6. Amogh - Chirec

Comfee & Purifloat

[caption id="attachment_141469" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (Left to Right): N Venkatesh(TYE Program Co-Chair), Aditi P(Future Kids), Sridhar Reddy(President, TiE Hyderabad; CMD - CtrlS), Arav J G(Bharatiya Vidyalaya) Viiveck Verma(TYE Program Co-Chair), Phani Pattamatta(ED, TiE Hyderabad)[/caption]

Reward Box

[caption id="attachment_141470" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (Left to Right): N Venkatesh(TYE Program Co-Chair), Priyal S, Shreyas Bathi(Sancta Maria), K Hitesh Kumar(Future Kids), Sridhar Reddy(President, TiE Hyderabad; CMD - CtrlS), Rewanth Talasila( FIITJEE), Rohan N(Chirec Public School), Viiveck Verma(TYE Program Co-Chair)[/caption]

16 Student Startups Graduate from iB Hubs Startup School'19 Lucknow

The increase in number of startups and innovations makes way for the country to progress rapidly. Despite the increasing startup trend in India, only a few startups manage to thrive. To reshape this scenario and bring out more successful startups, iB Hubs, a PAN India Startup Hub, has come up with a novel initiative called iB Hubs Startup School that nurtures budding student startups. This 4-week zero-fee & zero-equity student acceleration program has taken in the 8th batch of young founders at Lucknow from mid-June.

The year, iB Hubs Startup School graduated 9 startups from Hyderabad, and currently, Lucknow cohort is nurturing 16 more. Through out-and-out learnings and experimentation, and great exposure to the real-world scenarios, the program presents an in-depth perspective on the dynamics and workings of the startup world.



Alumni of iB Hubs Startup School ‘17 and ‘18 have also joined the 2019 program to guide their juniors, throughout this program and after, with their experiences and learnings from running their startups.

Over 3 years, the program has empowered 140+ student entrepreneurs helping them carve their success stories and creating role models in the student startup ecosystem. The 2019 edition received applications from 800+ aspiring entrepreneurs from 200+ universities across 25 states in India.



The cohort contains startups from diverse domains like IoT, agritech, health tech, social media, green tech, and more. Few of the startups this year are, Oxyheal - a health tech startup that builds oxygen-enabled medical devices to cure chronic wounds, Novzo - a platform for readers to connect with people of their interests, EF Polymers - a startup that produces biodegradable polymers which enhance soil fertility and crop production, Infiability - sports-based startup that designs and delivers performance-enhancing sports equipment for international sportsmen, etc.

During the program, the student entrepreneurs conduct on-ground interviews with potential customers, strategize business models, master lean startup methods, learn basic financial and legal aspects, develop pitch decks, and understand the intricacies of the startup world.

The young founders also interacted with experts like Mr. Satish Kataria - CEO of Catapooolt, Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi - ENT Surgeon, Stanford-India Biodesign Fellow 2012, Mr. Saurabh Gupta - an executive from Digital Ocean, Mr. Sasank Parimi - SVP Business Development at ProYuga Advanced Technologies Ltd, and learnt valuable startup life lessons.

The growing number of young entrepreneurs in India backed by the initiatives like iB Hubs Startup School would bring out more successful startups from the country.

Entrepreneurs master Financial Intelligence at iB Hubs Startup School

iB Hubs Startup School, a 4-week zero-fee & zero-equity student acceleration program is running into its 3rd week in full vigour. While the student entrepreneurs focused on customer centricity in the first week, they dived deeper into the concepts of Finance and Business Model Innovation after that.

The entrepreneurs explored the essential skills of financial intelligence to understand and take wise decisions for building their startup books. Startups learnt the fundamentals of balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, different ratios, best practices for building a financially intelligent company, etc.

This learning was deeply enhanced by expert talks from seasoned entrepreneurs. Mr. Satish Kataria, Founder at Catapooolt, a crowdfunding platform detailed the students on crowdfunding. The students also gained rich insights on the life of a serial entrepreneur from Mr. Prashant Lingam, co-founder of Bamboo House India. The entrepreneurs were greatly inspired by the talk from Ms. Meghana Dabbara, founder of Make The World Wonderful, on her vision and the steps they are taking towards building a harmonious culture in the society.

[caption id="attachment_131006" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Prashant Lingam had on session with entreprenuers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_131005" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Prashant Lingam Bamboo House co- founder with AVP startup relations Avinash[/caption]

The entrepreneurs learnt about Business Models Innovation. They understood the different business models and their forms of innovation with case studies on new business models that have emerged in the recent times. They also explored some of the best project management tools to help them manage work effectively.

Kritika Singh from Startup India explained how initiatives from the Government of India act as a bridge between startups and other prominent players in the startup ecosystem and how entrepreneurs can avail different benefits of Startup India.

An unexpected off-beat session was conducted where the students got to experience the immersive iB Cricket. The student entrepreneurs formed teams and played a cricket tournament in virtual reality. The session gave them hands-on lessons on the importance of team building and leadership.

4,000 Students' Startup Projects to be Supported by the Gujarat Government in New Initiative

The Gujarat Government, through its Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP) programme, has lent support to as many as 4,000 innovative projects, while it braces for harnessing and upscaling 500 students' startups in the next five years.

Speaking at the inaugural of the 1st edition of a 2-day SSIP Student Annual Conference on Student Innovation, Start-ups and Ecosystem held yesterday at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) campus, Gujarat's Principal Secretary (Education) Anju Sharma said that innovative projects including over 2,000 prototypes had already been developed and 500 of them are patented.

Speaking at the conference, State's Commissioner of Technical Education Avantika Singh said the Gujarat Government had set a goal of "harnessing as well as scaling up 500 students' startups in the next five years."

Launched in 2017, the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) of Government of Gujarat is focused on creating an integrated, state-wide, university-based innovation ecosystem in order to support ideas and innovations of the students and offer them a conducive environment that would harness their creative pursuit.

Held at EDII on June 6 and 7, the conference saw the participation of about 155 start-ups and 118 young innovators from across the country, along with 18 academic institutions, 9 universities and 79 mentors. A total of 11 student start-ups and 5 young innovators along with 3 institutions, 3 universities and 10 mentors will receive SSIP Prashansha awards.

Prominent speakers at the event include Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures. Former Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys, Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission; Yashraj and Yuvraj Bhardwaj, 18-year old twin brothers who are founders of Zenith Viper; Sanjay Kumar, Founder, Start-up Village, Kritika Murugesan from NASSCOM, 10K.

In the event's stage-wise process the students are first educated about what innovation and creativity is and why is 'Design Thinking' important. The students then come up with several innovative projects "from which certain good projects that have potential are selected by the Screening Committee of their respective institutes for prototype development.

The prototypes that get developed result into startups for which further support to the students is provided by the government, including the patent fees and patent consultancy. Around 4,000 such innovative projects are supported.

Among the start-ups, 'Bogie Sauf', an automated tire air pressure maintenance system from Government Engineering College in Dahod in central Gujarat, 'Booz- Hello Skate Mobility' from Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council, 'Maarg Sahayaka' from Vishwakarma Government Engineering College were major attractions at a startups exhibition, which has also been organised.

Bogie Sauf

Developed by mechanical engineering students of Government Engineering College in Dahod -- Mayur Mahla, Gaurav Chale, and Kartik Patel, Bogie Sauf is a innovative system which would automatically fill air after a tyre has been punctured enabling the vehicle to ply for a distance.

[caption id="attachment_131000" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Mayur Mahla, Gaurav Chale and Kartik Patel Dahod residents & mechanical engineering students Mayur Mahla, Gaurav Chale and Kartik Patel
[Image - DNAIndia.com][/caption]

The device would automatically fill air at the very moment when a tyre of a vehicle is punctured. The air filled into the tyre 'on-the-go' that is even if the vehicle is moving and the vehicle can go up to 70 km. The device stops filling up air, if the vehicle comes to a halt. The innovation can ensure the safety of women driving late at night and can also be used against dacoits, Naxalites, and even terrorists, who often plan flattening the tyres of vehicles in order to execute their bad intentions.

The students received initial funding of Rs 27,000 through Students Start-up and Innovation Policy of the state government through which they developed a prototype of one tyre and displayed their idea at the exhibition held at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII).

Source - India Today, DNA India

iB Hubs Startup School Selects 27 Emerging Student Startups from 25 States across India

iB Hubs Startup School, a 4-week zero-fee & zero-equity student acceleration program has taken in the 7th batch of young entrepreneurs. This program equips student entrepreneurs with startup life-lessons and essential skills to get a head-start in their entrepreneurial journey and successfully navigate the dynamic startup world.

The first cohort of iB Hubs Startup School ‘19 started on 13th May in Hyderabad, and the Lucknow cohort starts from June 13th. Each cohort will have four weeks of intensive learning and experimentation. The program is hosting 27 young startups from a diverse range of domains like IoT, agritech, medicine, green tech, social media and more.



Few of the startups are ‘Mars’ - IoT-based enabled devices that promote zero budget natural farming, ‘Cardia Care Technologies’ - cost-effective solutions to detect heart-related issues, ‘Engineers Hub’ - a platform for college students to accelerate their learning, ‘Wricks’ - promotes safer environment by building eco-friendly solutions like bricks, tiles, etc. with plastic waste.

“The core idea of initiating this program is to nurture student entrepreneurs and create role models in the student community which further fosters the entrepreneurial culture. E-Cells of top universities of India including IITs, NITs, etc. have joined hands to take this initiative across the country. This year, more than 800+ aspiring entrepreneurs from 200+ universities across 25 states in India have applied for the program, which reflects the rise in the entrepreneurial spirit in the country.” says Kavya Dommeti, CEO of iB Hubs.

During the first week, the student entrepreneurs learnt the importance of customer centricity, figured out their value propositions and customer segments, conducted on-ground interviews with their prospective customers, helping them get closer to product/market fit.



In the coming weeks, experts like Vineet Khurana, VP - Chandigarh Angels Network, Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi, ENT Surgeon, Stanford-India Biodesign Fellow 2012, Sivareena S L, Co-Founder & COO, PregBuddy, etc. would be addressing the startups. The founders would master the lean startup methods, strategize business models, develop pitch decks, learn basic financial and legal aspects. They would also lay the foundations for strong team culture and would set out to start their journey with a six months execution plan in hand.

Alumni of iB Hubs Startup School ‘17 and ‘18 have joined the 2019 program to guide their juniors, throughout this program and after, with their experiences and learnings from running the startups for over a year. Along with advising the young founders, the seniors also will work towards the growth and expansion of their own startups under the guidance of program mentors. With a robust ecosystem like this, iB Hubs Startup School is a sustainable mutual growth model, where every stakeholder benefits and adds value to each other.

Indian Student Wins South Asia Region Qualifiers For The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

An Indian student has become the proud winner of the EO South Asia Regional Qualifiers of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) this year, announced Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) in a press release sent to Indianweb2.com.

Hosted by the EO Bangladesh Chapter, 17 student entrepreneurs from four countries competed head to head in this regional finale for a chance to move on to the global finals.

[caption id="attachment_123260" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Eshan Sadasivan_EO_Regional GSEA Winner receiving the award[/caption]

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Eshan Sadasivan -- Founder & CEO, PROSOC bested his competitors with his innovative (business insights) based on his business idea, excellent presentation skills and smart responses during the Q&A rounds. Jahangir Alam of ALO from Bangladesh was the first runner up.

GSEA is EO’s premier awards program for students who own or operate a business while attending college or university. Eshan has won this regional GSEA round and now proceeds to compete against other top student entrepreneurs from around the world in the hopes of winning over US$400,000 in cash and donated prizes at EO GSEA Global Finals 2018 in Toronto, Canada.

In order to qualify for this award contest, participants had to be an undergraduate student and the owner of a for-profit/social enterprise structured (revenue generating) business that has operated for at least six consecutive months. All the participants contested in the Regional Finals have achieved the Local Winner Award and prize money in their respective countries.

“GSEA has introduced me with a wide-open horizon of possibilities. This has been a continuous adventure of enriching myself through learning. Moreover, attending the regional finals has been an amazing experience as I got acquainted with innovative geniuses from other countries and I think this will help me broaden my vision about business and friendship.” said Eshan Sadasivan, winner of GSEA South Asia regional competition.

“EO Bangladesh hosted the GSEA regional competition for the first time and we are immensely honored to get this opportunity to welcome the participants and delegates of EO South Asia and create a platform for commercial harmony” said Zareen Mahmud Hosein, GSEA Co-Chair.

“I am overwhelmed to meet the young talents of South Asia and to experience their vision in person which will change the world soon enough. My sincere thanks to EO South Asia to give EO Bangladesh the opportunity to host this prestigious event. ”-Said Khaled Hossain, President- EO Bangladesh while expressing his gratification.

Tofail Ahmed, MP, Minister for Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has graced the event with his presence as the chief guest. The jury for the regional finale was Sayed Almas Kabir, Chief Executive Officer of MetroNet Bangladesh Limited and Managing Director of AyAl Corp, Farzana Chowdhury, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Green Delta Insurance Company Limited, Minhaz Anwar, Head of GP Accelerator, Rokia Afzal Rahman, chairperson of Mediaworld Ltd and Chiranjiv Patel, Reginal Director, EO GSEA South Asia.

About the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

As the premier global competition for undergraduate students, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) represents more than 1,700 of the prominent student entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries. Built on a mission to inspire students to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures, GSEA brings global visibility to pioneering student business owners. Since 1998, the GSEA, a program founded at the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, has honored outstanding students who simultaneously attend university full-time while running their own businesses. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) took on leadership of the GSEA in 2006 to offer student entrepreneurs access to a global network of mentors, resources and connections from the most influential community of entrepreneurs in the world. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s GSEA is generously supported by Thomas Franchise Solutions.

To recall, in March 2017 EO had organized Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), which represented thousands of prominent student entrepreneurs from more than 50 countries. And, the winner of EO GSEA India National Finals was Daniel Raj David, a student of IIT-Madras.

Just yesterday, New Delhi Chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization has launched its Accelerator Program in Delhi, a catapult for First-Stage Entrepreneurs, which aims to propel their businesses into a higher league in a short span of time.

In 2015, Campusknot, a startup founded by three Indian and a German student at the Mississippi State University (MSU) has received $100,000, and the startup also sets up a record for private investment in a student-run startup at the university

Indian Student Wins South Asia Region Qualifiers For The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

An Indian student has become the proud winner of the EO South Asia Regional Qualifiers of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) this year, announced Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) in a press release sent to Indianweb2.com.

Hosted by the EO Bangladesh Chapter, 17 student entrepreneurs from four countries competed head to head in this regional finale for a chance to move on to the global finals.

[caption id="attachment_123260" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Eshan Sadasivan_EO_Regional GSEA Winner receiving the award[/caption]

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Eshan Sadasivan -- Founder & CEO, PROSOC bested his competitors with his innovative (business insights) based on his business idea, excellent presentation skills and smart responses during the Q&A rounds. Jahangir Alam of ALO from Bangladesh was the first runner up.

GSEA is EO’s premier awards program for students who own or operate a business while attending college or university. Eshan has won this regional GSEA round and now proceeds to compete against other top student entrepreneurs from around the world in the hopes of winning over US$400,000 in cash and donated prizes at EO GSEA Global Finals 2018 in Toronto, Canada.

In order to qualify for this award contest, participants had to be an undergraduate student and the owner of a for-profit/social enterprise structured (revenue generating) business that has operated for at least six consecutive months. All the participants contested in the Regional Finals have achieved the Local Winner Award and prize money in their respective countries.

“GSEA has introduced me with a wide-open horizon of possibilities. This has been a continuous adventure of enriching myself through learning. Moreover, attending the regional finals has been an amazing experience as I got acquainted with innovative geniuses from other countries and I think this will help me broaden my vision about business and friendship.” said Eshan Sadasivan, winner of GSEA South Asia regional competition.

“EO Bangladesh hosted the GSEA regional competition for the first time and we are immensely honored to get this opportunity to welcome the participants and delegates of EO South Asia and create a platform for commercial harmony” said Zareen Mahmud Hosein, GSEA Co-Chair.

“I am overwhelmed to meet the young talents of South Asia and to experience their vision in person which will change the world soon enough. My sincere thanks to EO South Asia to give EO Bangladesh the opportunity to host this prestigious event. ”-Said Khaled Hossain, President- EO Bangladesh while expressing his gratification.

Tofail Ahmed, MP, Minister for Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has graced the event with his presence as the chief guest. The jury for the regional finale was Sayed Almas Kabir, Chief Executive Officer of MetroNet Bangladesh Limited and Managing Director of AyAl Corp, Farzana Chowdhury, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Green Delta Insurance Company Limited, Minhaz Anwar, Head of GP Accelerator, Rokia Afzal Rahman, chairperson of Mediaworld Ltd and Chiranjiv Patel, Reginal Director, EO GSEA South Asia.

About the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

As the premier global competition for undergraduate students, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) represents more than 1,700 of the prominent student entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries. Built on a mission to inspire students to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures, GSEA brings global visibility to pioneering student business owners. Since 1998, the GSEA, a program founded at the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, has honored outstanding students who simultaneously attend university full-time while running their own businesses. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) took on leadership of the GSEA in 2006 to offer student entrepreneurs access to a global network of mentors, resources and connections from the most influential community of entrepreneurs in the world. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s GSEA is generously supported by Thomas Franchise Solutions.

To recall, in March 2017 EO had organized Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), which represented thousands of prominent student entrepreneurs from more than 50 countries. And, the winner of EO GSEA India National Finals was Daniel Raj David, a student of IIT-Madras.

Just yesterday, New Delhi Chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization has launched its Accelerator Program in Delhi, a catapult for First-Stage Entrepreneurs, which aims to propel their businesses into a higher league in a short span of time.

In 2015, Campusknot, a startup founded by three Indian and a German student at the Mississippi State University (MSU) has received $100,000, and the startup also sets up a record for private investment in a student-run startup at the university

31 Student Startup Founders From 6 Indian States On Visit To Silicon Valley

Thirty-one student startup founders from six states are on a week-long visit to Silicon Valley at San Fransisco to pitch, network and learn from the best at the tech Mecca under a flagship #StartInCollege programme instituted by the Kochi's Startup Village Collective SV.CO in partnership with Facebook.

The students from various engineering colleges, who have built their startup products while enrolled in Startup Village's digital learning program, are on a week-long visit to showcase their prototypes, learn product development and skills, and get exposure to the world class startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley, according to a release here. SV.CO’s startup program for first-time founders is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India,the U.S. Embassy in India and has multiple state partners giving support to their respective students.

The students are also scheduled to visit Stanford, Intel HQ, Facebook HQ, Google Launchpad, Slack HQ, Golden Gate, Muir Woods and lot more.

Startup industry leaders Paytm and Freshworks (earlier known as FreshDesk) are on board as partners providing scholarships and mentoring to students. In the U.S., the team, the largest single Indian student startup delegation to visit the Silicon Valley, were welcomed by the City Council of Menlo Park and housed at Menlo College. On Tuesday (June 20) the founders will visit the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park where they will have a pitch session and get feedback from experts at the social media giant.

Related Reading - Get To Know 5 Promising Student Startups from Lucknow Chapter of iB Hubs Startup School

"At Facebook, we believe the student community has a central role to play in helping build a world class startup ecosystem in India. We are pleased to support the Start-in-college program that cultivates a sense of purpose amongst students and enables them to build meaningful projects from their college campus,” said Satyajeet Singh, Platform Partnerships, Facebook India. During their week-long stay till June 24, the students will visit other valley landmarks,including offices of Google, Intel, Silicon Valley Bank, Freshworks, Zendesk and Bootup Ventures; and attend startup workshops at the North Eastern University and Google Launchpad.

Leading entrepreneur turned venture capitalist Rajeev Madhavan will share with the students his insights on building two multi-hundred million dollar technology startups. Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is sponsoring 19 of the students as part of its international programme for startups. “If we are to build a world-class startup ecosystem in India, as is our goal, our entrepreneurs need to get first-hand experience of global best practices.

KSUM’s international programme is intended for promising young founders to have that experience and increase their level of confidence while in college itself so they get an early startup” said Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM. The Startup Village Collective SV.CO, a first-of-its-kind digital platform with a mission is to build a world class learning platform for students to become startup professionals and explore their full potential in life. "The Silicon Valley visit is to give the students a world class global exposure very early in life so that they can be more confident, motivated and get the ability to dream bigger than ever before as they immerse in the startup culture in Silicon Valley” said Sanjay Vijayakumar, Chairman, Startup Village Collective.

[Top Image - Ajo John @Medium]