The Principle Scientific Advisor to the Govt of India Visits the iCreate Campus; Discusses Ways to Accelerate Tech Innovation in the Country

Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay K. Sood, visited the iCreate (International Centre of Entrepreneurship and Technology) campus in Ahmedabad to meet with the entrepreneurs and startups currently being incubated at the centre. During his visit, he interacted with the founders and offered his guidance and expertise to the start-ups who shared their ideas and experiences with him. Prof. Sood also held meetings with iCreate’s leadership including the CEO, Mr Avinash Punekar to discuss ways in which technology innovation can be given an impetus in the country.

iCreate, India's leading innovation-based start-up incubator, is home to 530 promising startups that are developing breakthrough innovations in the fields of electric vehicles, technology, healthcare and agritech, among others.

Impressed by the passion and dedication of the startups incubated at iCreate, Prof. Ajay K. Sood said, “I am always intrigued by the ingenuity and determination of India’s startup ecosystem. The startups at iCreate are doing remarkable work, and I am confident they will make a significant contribution to the country’s development and growth. As India moves towards becoming a global innovation hub, it is essential to have institutes like iCreate that support the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovation. I look forward to iCreate’s plans of developing an EV supply chain portal and its plans to take EV technologies into the domains of aerospace and defence. We are happy to support iCreate in fostering the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation in the country."

He also extended his greetings to the institution’s SoC42, an open-source platform for all Indian EV tech developers, including startups, and for its plan to launch various CoEs in energy technologies, agritech, aerospace, and defence.

Earlier this year, an agreement between CSIR and iCreate was signed to establish collaborative support to take the institute’s R&D work to the market including Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion battery technologies. He also insisted that the industry should participate in such initiatives through investments and CSR funding, and stated that this will help India achieve the required technological independence. Commenting on the CoE in Indigenization, Prof. Sood expressed that this initiative will provide much-needed R&D and product development support to MSMEs across the country and help promote industries and generate employment.

Prof. Ajay Sood’s visit is part of the Government of India’s ongoing efforts to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the country. In partnership with various incubation centres, the Government of India hopes to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and create new opportunities for economic growth and development.

About iCreate

Winner of the National Award for Technology Business Incubator 2020, iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) is an autonomous centre of excellence of the Government of Gujarat and is India’s largest institution for transforming start-ups based on tech innovation into successful businesses. Located in a state-of-the-art 40-acre campus at Dev Dholera in Ahmedabad, it has supported over 530 innovations and 45 patents with a ‘high-touch, entrepreneur first model’, connecting them with mentors, markets and money. Embedded systems and IoT are a focus area for iCreate, in domains like electric vehicles, agritech, smart cities, health tech, industrial automation, and renewable energy, among others. It is home to Cisco's largest Innovation Lab in India and has partnerships with leading institutions in the US, Israel and other countries. It has a strategic partnership with CSIR, India's apex organisation for science and technology, and with leading institutions across the world.

iCreate Hosts 35 Incubators a 3-day ISBA Conference to Discuss the Growth of Incubation Centres in India

iCreate hosts 35 incubators for a three-day ISBA conference to discuss the growth of incubation centres in India. 

Participants learnt the essence of brand building, managing and growing of an incubation centre

iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology), Indiaʼs leading tech innovation-based start-up incubator in association with ISBA (Indian STEPs & Business Incubators Association) hosted a 3 day capacity building programme from 13-15th October at its campus with 35 incubators from across the country. CEOs and Incubation Managers of ISBA’s member incubators underwent an intense training to understand strategies for incubation growth and stakeholder management under the ISBALEARNX program. Incubation experts from across the country were invited to lead these sessions.

Addressing the crowd, Mr. Avinash Punekar, CEO, iCreate said, “The last 5 years have witnessed significant development in India’s entrepreneurial landscape as the number of recognised startups in the country has increased manifold. This clearly explains the prowess of Indian inventors and the reason for growing investor confidence in Indian startups and therefore the need for development and growth of incubators in the country. We are grateful to be associated with an organization like ISBA that has been supporting us and has been at the forefront of assisting incubators and startups with different frameworks and actively engaging with State and Central Government for various policies. We are delighted and privileged to have the support of some of the most distinguished organizations in the country. Together with ISBA, we look forward to developing a stronger incubation culture in India and work on the mutual mission of making India the start-up hub of the World."

In an effort to focus energies on objectives like brand management and growth strategies for their incubation centers, the congregation saw participation from leading incubators like National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli; Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society; Science and Technology Park, Pune, Vellore Institute of Technology; SINE, IIT Bombay; IIT Mandi Catalyst and COEP's Bhau Institute of Innovation Entrepreneurship and Lead to name a few.

Extending his gratitude Mr. Prasad Menon, Vice President ISBA and CEO, CIBA said, “ I express my heartfelt appreciation to iCreate for organizing and conducting an event of this stature. Being one of the leading incubators of India, we have known iCreate for its commitment in promoting growth and entrepreneurial energies in the country and are proud to be associated with them. Incubators globally have become an ecosystem with an array of initiatives that support the economy leading the way in improving our global position as a start-up hub. ISBA aims to build awareness about the value an incubator adds to the industry and with this conference we see a commitment to our vision of transforming the incubator ecosystem in India. ISBA has been conducting such capacity building programs for more than a decade now. More than 1000 Incubation managers have benefited from such learning programs. Having partners and members like iCreate in our family, we are certain that we will successfully achieve our mission to build a conducive incubation ecosystem by bringing together various industry stakeholders”.

About iCreate

Winner of the National Award for Technology Business Incubator 2020, iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) is an autonomous centre of excellence of the Government of Gujarat and is India’s largest institution for transforming start-ups based on tech innovation into successful businesses. Located in a state-of-the-art 40-acre campus at Dev Dholera in Ahmedabad, to date it has supported over 529 innovations and 44 patents with a ‘high-touch, entrepreneur first model, connecting them with mentors, markets and money. Embedded systems and IoT are a focus area for iCreate, in domains like electric vehicles, agritech, smart cities, healthtech, industrial automation, and renewable energy, among others. It is home to Cisco's largest Innovation Lab in India and has partnerships with leading institutions in the US, Israel and other countries. It has a strategic partnership with CSIR, India's apex organisation for science and technology, and with leading institutions across the world.

About ISBA

ISBA was started a decade ago (2004), by a small motley crowd of Science & Technology Entrepreneur Parks and Technology Business Incubators that were established under the umbrella of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. Today it has grown to a membership base of 100+ incubators that are into entrepreneurship development custom writing here and incubation.

ISBA is registered as a not-for-profit Society under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Its main objective is “To promote business incubation activities in the country through exchange of information, sharing of experience, and other networking assistance among Indian Business Incubators (TBIs), Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks (STEPs) and other related organizations engaged in the promotion of start-up enterprises. "

US-India Business Council Partners with Gujarat-based iCreate to Support Innovative Startups

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) joined hands with the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCreate), an entrepreneur incubation centre based in Ahmedabad. After this partnership, the USIBC will support the iCreate in areas like innovations, startup collaborations, sharing of mentorship programmes, research and development labs for pilot programmes, establishing centres of excellence and innovation, exploring funding opportunities for entrepreneurs and other allied activities.

The member of both the organizations expressed happiness on this partnership and hoped it will help to build a strong startup ecosystem in India.

USIBC Chairman and Cisco Executive Chairman, John Chambers opined, “An institution like iCreate taps in to the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat, providing the younger generation with opportunities for employment and financial prosperity. The opportunity for collaboration between U.S. companies and Indian start-ups has never been better, led in large part by India’s booming innovation ecosystem where an estimated three to four new startups emerge each day. These partnerships are vital to fulfill Prime Minister Modi’s vision of 'Digital India' and 'Start-up India'.” He praised iCreate for developing a strong startup ecosystem for innovation-based start-ups.

USIBC President, Dr. Mukesh Aghi said, “The partnership with iCreate is a necessary and timely enterprise. The Council is well positioned to provide greater levels of support to start-ups and entrepreneurship with its membership base of 400 companies from diverse business areas.”

Parag Amin, iCreate Chief Mentor expected that this partnership brings together best of both the worlds. USIBC offers access to cutting edge technology along with capital and iCreate brings the entrepreneurial spirit of the State of Gujarat. The goal is to succeed in Gujarat and then replicate the model to across the country.

The announcement comes ahead of the Council’s annual west coast summit to be held in Menlo Park, California— an annual gathering of leaders from the private sector and the government focusing on critical issues in the U.S.-India Technology Partnership. As part of the partnership, iCreate is USIBC’s knowledge partner for the upcoming summit.

USIBC will launch a webinar series called the U.S.-India Start-Up Dialogue to reinforce the bilateral trade relations. The series will highlight startups from an exciting growth industry to a diverse audience of USIBC members, government stakeholders, and other partners.