40 Trailblazing Women, ₹10 Lakh Golden Grants—The Battle Begins! Watch Her Start-Up Show Season 2 on JioHotstar!

• Britannia Marie Gold Her Start-Up Show Returns with Season 2, Offering ₹10 Lakh Golden Grants to Women Entrepreneurs
• In collaboration with GroupM Motion Entertainment and Mindshare, the show premiered on April 19 on JioHotstar

Britannia Marie Gold announces the launch of Season 2 of Her Start-Up Show. Launched in partnership with GroupM Motion Entertainment and Mindshare, it is the first-ever national reality series dedicated to women entrepreneurs from across the country, a platform to showcase their ideas. The show, which premiered on JioHotstar on 19th April, features 40 finalists competing for the ₹10 lakh Golden Grant

Conceptualized by GroupM Motion Content, Britannia Marie Gold Her Start-Up Show is more than just a series— it's a catalyst for change, empowering women to turn their ideas into impact through funding, mentorship, and national visibility.

The show is the culmination of the Britannia Marie Gold Her Start-Up Contest, launched in July 2024, which saw participation from over one lakh aspiring women entrepreneurs across India. From these, over 100 women underwent professional training, with 40 moving to the shortlisting stage. Every participant stands to receive 10 Lakh of Britannia Marie Gold Grant or mentorship, in addition to national visibility and ecosystem access. The standout top 10 performers will win the prestigious ₹10 lakh Golden Grant, while the other promising women entrepreneurs will gain entry into the NSDC Women Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program.

Representing cities like Indore, Aurangabad, Coimbatore, Jammu & Kashmir, and more, the 40 contestants pitch ideas across food, fashion, sustainability, tech, and agri-solutions. The show is presented in six languages—Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada—with subtitles and audio options available on JioHotstar. Spread across eight episodes, two new ones drop every weekend from April 19 on JioHotstar, showcasing journeys from pitches to mentorship to the ₹10 lakh Britannia Marie Gold Grant.

Hosted by actress Shriya Saran, the show features an all-star jury: actor-entrepreneur Neha Dhupia, MasterChef winner Shipra Khanna, artisan Ruma Devi, Suta’s Sujata Biswas, Aarti Gupta (Jagran Group), Riya Joseph (Britannia), and Shreshtha Gupta (NSDC India), to name a few.

Siddharth Gupta, General Manager - Marketing, Britannia, said, “Britannia Marie Gold’s journey of empowering women entrepreneurs began five years ago with a simple belief that millions of women across India have powerful ideas, and all they need is a platform to be seen and supported. What started as a nationwide contest has grown into a robust ecosystem with initiatives like HerStore and now, Season 2 of Her Start-Up Show. Each step has deepened our commitment to helping women ‘Do More, Be More’. We’re proud to partner with GroupM and Mindshare, whose belief in the power of storytelling has helped bring these entrepreneurial journeys to life. With this show, we not only celebrate ambition but also create access to mentorship, funding, and national visibility. Together, we remain committed to enabling every woman who dares to dream and dares to build.”

Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, GroupM South Asia, “We have always believed in media’s power to spark movements, not just moments. Her Start-Up Show blends storytelling with purpose, driving real economic empowerment. The overwhelming response to Season 1 showed how deeply this platform resonated with women in one region. That’s why, in Season 2, we are expanding to six languages and a broader reach across India. Thus, bringing every ambitious woman closer to the support she deserves. This show goes beyond visibility; it is about bringing dreams alive via action, impact, and a re-imagined future for women entrepreneurship.”

“At Mindshare, we believe in building brands that don’t just sell but spark change. In its second season, Her Start-Up Show goes far beyond amplification, it’s about creating access, fuelling aspiration, and offering a platform to women entrepreneurs across India. We are incredibly grateful to our client, Britannia, for backing this bold vision and partnering with us to bring it to life. What started as a pioneering idea is now an award-winning show, with its impact resonating across markets and touching countless lives. With its expansion to a larger OTT platform, the show’s reach and influence have scaled significantly, finding its way into more homes, hearts, and boardrooms. These aren’t just stories; they are real journeys of transformation. Together with GroupM Motion Entertainment and Britannia, we are proud to drive a narrative where media becomes a powerful force for empowerment and enduring change.” Amin Lakhani, CEO, Mindshare South Asia.

Actress and host Shriya Saran said “Being part of Her Start-Up Show has been truly inspiring. It’s a powerful platform that gives women across India the opportunity to turn their dreams into reality. I’m proud to be part of a show that celebrates ambition, courage, and the spirit of women entrepreneurs.”

Britannia Marie Gold has always shown its unwavering commitment to empowering millions of women in their entrepreneurial dreams through initiatives like the Marie Gold HerStartup contest, previously known as MyStartup Contest and Her.Store. The Britannia Marie Gold Her Start-up Show is a continuation of that legacy, celebrating women who are shattering barriers and inspiring a nation.

Season 2 of Britannia Marie Gold Her Start-up show is streaming exclusively on JioHotstar.

About Britannia Industries

Britannia is a 100+ year old Company and is a market leader in the Bakery category in India with an annual revenue of over Rs 165 billion. The company’s two focus categories include - Bakery & Dairy, with trusted & iconic brands such as Good Day, Marie Gold, Milk Bikis & Nutrichoice. Britannia products are available in over 80 countries. The Company manufactures its products in nearly 100 factories, which are made available in over 27 lakh outlets to eventually reach over 180 million households in the country. The Company's vision is to be a responsible global, total foods company, and delight consumers with delicious, and wholesome snacks and beverages throughout the day.

About GroupM Motion Entertainment

GroupM Motion Entertainment is a global content investment and rights management company that meets the market demand for new economic models for premium content across the entertainment and media marketplace. This is achieved by investing and partnering with the world’s leading talent, producers, and distributors to fund, develop, produce, and distribute premium content to help drive and support editorially and commercially vibrant, premium content networks and platforms for the global benefit of our content partners and advertisers. GroupM Motion Entertainment India’s IP includes the No.1 YAARI Series, Critics’ Choice Awards, Hello Sago, and others. Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, the business operates in 26 countries worldwide with Motion’s broad range of award-winning programming distributed globally. GroupM Motion Entertainment is part of GroupM, the world’s leading full-service media investment management operation, a WPP company.

About Mindshare:

We were born in Asia in 1997, a WPP start-up designed to make media exciting, fun and life changing. For over 20 years our values of Speed, Teamwork and Provocation have guided us in a world where everything begins and ends in media. We are the Cannes Lions Media Network of the Year 2023 and WARC Media 100 #1 Media Network 2020, with the top 3 most creative campaigns of the past year – so basically, statistically the best media agency in the world! Our 10,000 people work with some of the world’s best brands and companies to challenge convention. In 116 offices across 86 countries, we integrate brand and demand, ruthlessly focus on outcomes, and create the unexpected.

International Startups to Compete in $600,000 Rocket Fuel Startup Pitch Competition at Leap22

The Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch competition aims to find the best in start-up innovation and ideas from around the world as part of Saudi Arabia’s LEAP technology mega-event

The competition’s investor program and judges include BBC’s The Dragons’ Den stars Steven Bartlett and James Caan alongside footballers-turned-celebrity investors Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.

Start-ups from around the world are being invited to go head-to-head to win a share of a USD $600,000 prize fund at the Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition, and to pitch their businesses to powerhouse VCs and leading international investors.

The competition will be held as part of LEAP, the world’s largest debut technology event, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February 2022.

Entries are now open for the Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition, which will challenge start-ups in a pitch contest to find some of the most exciting and impactful new businesses from around the world. Ninety start-ups will be invited to pitch their business ideas live on stage during LEAP on 1st and 2nd February.

The finalists will have just five minutes to present their best pitches to a panel of international and local investors during LEAP, and convince them that they have what it takes to be one of the top 10 businesses who will go into the Grand Final on 3rd February.

These 10 best entrepreneurs will then get another chance to showcase the merits of their businesses, scored on creativity, innovation, potential, functionality and impact on people and society. The winner will be presented with the LEAP Award for the strongest, most outstanding start-up across the whole competition, and will be awarded the grand prize of $200,000.

The finalists will also compete for three other awards, including The Shooting Star Award for best early-stage start-up, which will win $100,000; the Aviatrix Award for best female-led start-up; and the Technology for Humanity Award for the start-up that best embodies the spirit of LEAP "Technology for Humanity". The winners of these awards will each receive a prize of $150,000.

LEAP has assembled a world-class judging panel of celebrity investors and business leaders to assess the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition contestants and put them through their paces. The panel will include: Steven Bartlett, businessman, speaker, investor and content creator, best known for the BBC’s Dragons’ Den; Baroness Karren Brady, business executive and television personality; James Caan, entrepreneur and television personality; Kelly Hoppen, interior designer, author and entrepreneur; Michael Salgado, retired Real Madrid footballer and celebrity investor; Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and board member of the Saudi Venture Capital Co., a prominent Saudi academic, entrepreneur and angel investor, and Hattan Ahmed, Director of Entrepreneurship at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are at the core of the technology sector, so it is fitting that the Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition will recognize some of the best start-ups worldwide as part of LEAP. Saudi Arabia is developing its own booming start-up ecosystem, supported by the Saudi government and private investors, and we look forward to welcoming outstanding international start-ups to join us in Riyadh for LEAP,” said H.E. Eng. Haitham Alohali, Vice Minister at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

“I am honoured and excited to be speaking at LEAP, which brings together the worlds of technology, entrepreneurship and innovation all in one place,” said Steven Bartlett, Founder of Social Chain and an investor on BBC One show Dragons' Den.

LEAP is the largest debut technology event in history, taking place from the 1st – 3rd of February 2022 in Riyadh, and is set to become a truly global platform for the entire innovation ecosystem, connecting pioneers and disruptors with business and government leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and more to experience and learn about the technologies of the future.

The Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition is taking place as a part of LEAP’s Investor Program, which will connect local and international VC investors and funds through an exclusive line-up of matchmaking, networking and investment events that will take place during LEAP. The investor program will include workshops, 1-on-1 meetings and after-hours functions, to connect VCs and funds from the Middle East region with new tech-focused investment opportunities, as well as supporting local start-ups to explore potential new sources of funding from outside the region.

“LEAP will feature an extensive, dedicated program of activities for investors in line with Saudi Arabia’s aims of developing its own entrepreneurial ecosystem and technology industry. Informa is very excited to be organizing the program and the Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition to showcase the ingenuity and business potential of local and international start-ups and to connect them with a global investor audience,” said Michael Champion, Regional Executive Vice President - MEA at Informa.

Entries for the Rocket Fuel Start-up Pitch Competition close on 18th January 2022.

To find out more about LEAP, please visit www.OneGiantLEAP.com. You can stay up to date with the latest announcements from LEAP via our social media channels via @LeapAndInnovate on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Snapchat.

Financial Times and Seedstars Announce Finalists of FTxSDG Challenge’s $500k Funding Prize

Financial Times and Seedstars announce the startup finalists advancing to the FTxSDG Challenge finale for a chance to win $500K in funding among other prizes. Winners will be announced through a live broadcast on December 17, 1PM CET. Watch the finale by signing up here: http://FTtalent.ft.com/ftxseedstars/

The FTxSDG Challenge was launched to find impact-driven entrepreneurs and ventures creating innovative solutions from over 90 markets around the world. A new dimension of the startup competition is the alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The focus on the SDGs aims to bring awareness to global problems, while also empowering entrepreneurs who are creating solutions that can address these issues. The event brings together early-stage startups from emerging markets and individual entrepreneurs working in groups to solve real challenges for the different themes.

From over 4,500 applications, there were 2000 selected candidates who had the opportunity to access Investment Readiness Sessions and Seedstars’ tech perks. From there, only 30 startups will have the chance to pitch their solutions for one of the following six SDGs:

• SDG 4: Quality Education (supported by the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR))
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 3: Good Health & Wellbeing
• SDG 8: Good Jobs & Economic Growth
• SDG 13: Climate Action

The FTxSDG Challenge brings a five-day event beginning on the 13th of December that will lead up to the winner announcement on the 17th.

Viewers can tune in to catch two days of expert panel discussions on each of the SDGs in focus. Each panel will include expert speakers including global thought-leaders and impact creation experts who’ll discuss how innovation and technology can solve the most critical issues around the world. The full list of all of the speakers can be found here.

The startup finalists for this year’s FTxSDF Challenge per SDG are the following:

• Gender Equality: Babybliss, Mujer Financiera, SHEROES, Pinky Promise, and Momby
• Climate Action: Kudoti, Ualabee, SafEarth, Ghoom.bike, and ePioneers
• Quality Education: Mohirdev, AlGooru, Anthem, Unschool, and Edu2Review
• Good Jobs and Economic Growth: ChapChap, trii, Metabeta, mBolsa, and HintEd
• Reduced Inequalities: abela.app, Tulix App, duhqa, Evolve Credit, TiendAPP
• Good Health and Wellbeing: 360Moms, medl, Sila Health, InstaCare, and Cogni

Each company will have the opportunity to pitch to a panel of experts, namely:

• Gender Equality: Seedstars, Partnerships for the SDGs, Romulo Navarette; Global Ventures, Principal, Sacha Haider; and IDB Invest Consultant in Gender Equity and Women's Empowerment Jimena Serrano.
• Climate Action: Seedstars, Head Of Partnerships (Asia-Pacific), Anurag Maloo; CTCN, Director at UN Climate Technology Centre and Network, Rose Mwebaza; DFC, Deputy Chief Climate Officer at U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Aparna Shrivastava; and Prosus, Investor, Ting Ting Liu.
• Quality Education: Seedstars, Investment Manager, Konstantin Hapkemeyer; UNICEF, Adolescent Development Manager, Marcy Levy; and GSV Ventures, Partner, Luben Pampoulov.
• Good Jobs and Economic Growth: Seedstars, Chief Investment Officer, Charlie Graham-Brown; GIZ, Director Economic and Social Development, Digitalisation, Dr. Axel Klaphake; Click Ventures, Founder and Managing Partner, Carman Chan; and BFA Global, Senior Venture Builder, Maxime Bayen.
• Reduced Inequalities: Seedstars, Growth & Acceleration Program Manager, Eugenia Shevchenko; DOB EquityImpact Investors, Shawn Pantophlet; and Bethnal Green Ventures, Partner, Dama Sathianathan.
• Good Health and Wellbeing: Seedstars, Investment Manager, Sebastian Molina Gasman; IFC, Sr. Operations Officer - Global Lead, Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Business, Heather Kipnis; and Ataraxia VC, Chief Operating Partner, Neha Tanna M.D.

Only six startups will be announced as the FTxSDG Challenge Global Winners. They will be accelerated to the Seedstars International Fund where they’ll have the chance to secure up to $500K in funding, as well as receive access to the Seedstars Growth Program, and a visibility package from the Financial Times.

To watch the FTxSDG Challenge Finale week, you can register for the event for free here: http://FTtalent.ft.com/ftxseedstars/.

Govt Launches Grand Challenge 'जनCARE' To Identify 75 Startup Innovations in Telemedicine, AI, Digital Health and BIG Data

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launches the “Amrit Grand Challenge Program” titled “जनCARE” to identify 75 innovations in Telemedicine, AI, Digital Health & BIG Data by Start-ups and Entrepreneurs
• Addresses the BIRAC’s 10th Biotech Innovators Meet-“Vigyan se Vikash” in New Delhi
• Dr Jitendra Singh directed BIRAC to pro-actively reach out to Young Startups, rather than they approaching Council for help and support
• The Minister says, India’s Bio-Economy is on way to achieve 150 billion dollar target to contribute effectively for Prime Minister’s vision of a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024-25
• 10,000 Biotech Startups to propel the innovation and knowledge translation into products that are Made in India – for India and for the World: Dr Jitendra Singh

Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh, today launched the “AmritGrand Challenge Program” titled “जनCARE” to identify 75 Start-Up Innovations in Telemedicine, Digital Health, mHealth with BIG Data, AI, Block Chain and other technologies.

The Minister said, as the launch of Grand Challenge coincides with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav launched by the Prime Minister, it is all the more imperative for Young Startups and entrepreneurs to come out with Innovative Ideas and Solutions for India’s healthcare challenges. He said, the 75 Best Chosen Startups will be an asset for India to lead the country in the next 25 years, during the celebrations of Centenary of India’s Independence.

Addressing the BIRAC’s 10th Biotech Innovators Meet in New Delhi with a theme-“Vigyan se Vikash”, Dr Jitendra Singh pledged full support to Startups from ideation to deployment stage. He expressed satisfaction that there is a commitment from several industry, hospitals investors, incubators and other stakeholders for this Amrit Challenge, which will end by 31st December, 2021. The Minister also felt happy that this is being launched a day after the Pradhan Mantri’s Digital Health Mission was announced yesterday.

Dr Jitendra Singh directed the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) to pro-actively reach out to Young Startups, rather than they approaching BIRAC for help and support. He said, an audit in this regard will be done by the end of the year. The Minister also made his stand clear that Young promising Innovations will get priority in terms of help, support and hand-holding than the established industrial hubs.He said, though there is no dearth of talented HR pool in the Country, the main challenge is to channelize it for evolving new paradigms.

Interacting with some of the top Biotech and Agri Startups and Stakeholders, DrJitendra Singh said, he firmly believe that the Startups ecosystem has the potential to tilt the balance from import-centric medical devices sector to Made in India for India and for World alternatives. He said, many of the innovations developed in the last two years in the field of diagnostic kits, healthcare and farming will have a relevance in post-COVID era.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India’s Bio-Economy is on way to achieve 150 billion dollar target to contribute effectively to Prime Minister’s vision of a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024-25.Addressing the BIRAC’s 10th Biotech Innovators Meet in New Delhi, he said, the Sunshine Biotech Sector will more than double from 70 billion dollar at present to 150 billion dollar by 2025.

The Minister said that the Innovation and Startups support has resulted in more than 600 Plus Technologies and Products at different stages of Commercialisation. He also informed that the Startups ecosystem is also poised to scale to 10,000 biotech Startups propelling the innovation and knowledge translation into products that are Made in India – for India and for the World.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, BIRAC has established 60 world class Bio-incubators in the country. Moreover, BIRAC today engages with more than 5000 Startups and young entrepreneurs, who have received financial and mentoring support from BIRAC as it has its footprints across India and at all major global biotech destinations, he added. He said, it is also heartening to see that women founders led Startups have about 27% representation and is growing further.

Dr Jitendra Singh that the support from BIRAC in nurturing the talent pool, providing opportunities to Startups to Seed, Succeed and Scale is evident as thousands of them have received not only funding support but access to mentors and expertise for regulatory, go-to-market strategy development, fund raising and commercialization. The Minister said, due to this rich Startup ecosystem, we witnessed several Covid-19 diagnostic kits developed and manufactured by young Startups in a very short time that enabled our country to become Atmanirbhar for testing using indigenized diagnostic kits and related products.

Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary DBT & DST, and Chairperson BIRAC, Anju Bhalla, Joint Secretary DST and Managing Director BIRAC, eminent scientists, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, mentors and enablers of the biotech ecosystem took part in the event.

Financial Times and Seedstars Launch Global FT x SDG Challenge for Startups

The Financial Times is partnering with Seedstars, a Swiss-based company that invests and supports startups from emerging markets, to host the first FTxSDG Challenge. The competition has been launched to empower promising, impact-driven startups and entrepreneurs with learning and funding opportunities. The call for applications is now live.

The focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to bring awareness to global problems, while also empowering entrepreneurs who are creating solutions that can address these issues. The event will bring together early-stage startups from emerging markets and individual entrepreneurs to take part in the FTxSDG Challenge competition.

150 participants will be invited to solve real business challenges and present innovative strategies with a focus on the SDGs. The selected themes are: Gender equality, Climate Action, Quality Education - supported by the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR), Good Jobs and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities and Good Health and Wellbeing.

The event programme includes one-month’s access to the Investment Readiness Sessions by Seedstars and a five-day event filled with workshops, masterclasses, talks, mentoring and networking hosted by FT and Seedstars experts. Winning startups will be fast-tracked to the Seedstars Investments Fund and have the opportunity to secure up to $500,000 in funding.

Alisee De Tonnac, CEO, Seedstars, said: "Seedstars is very excited to launch the FTxSDG Challenge. Since 2013, our team has been organizing the Seedstars World Competition created to support and invest in impact-driven entrepreneurs from emerging markets. Working with Financial Times, we’re confident that this mission can be amplified together in the FTxSDG Challenge. Looking forward to seeing our combined efforts provide the entrepreneurs with even more resources and a larger global community of expert mentors and investors."

Jon Slade, FT’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We're excited to see FT Talent grow to include supporting early startups, as well as young professionals who are passionate about technology and entrepreneurship. Partnering with Seedstars is a game-changing opportunity to collaborate together and make a positive impact towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals."

Virginia Stagni, Business Development Manager & FT Talent Director, Financial Times added: “This partnership with Seedstars is our first startup challenge and supports the SDG’s critical agenda. Involving enterprises, and not just individuals, is a new step for the FT Talent project."

The deadline for applications is 1 November, 6pm GMT.

For more information, please visit the FTxSDG Challenge site: fttalent.ft.com/ftxseedstars/

IIIT-Hyderabad, MeitY and The Smart City Mission Launch Smart City Startup Challenge

The finalist will pitch to 10 leading smart city tech MNCs and the winner will receive an equity-free grant of INR 10 Lakhs.

Winner will be featured in a smart city innovation listing shared with all smart city CEOs
 

Hyderabad, May 5, 2021.....: Smart city living labs at IIIT Hyderabad in association with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and The smart city mission have launched a Smart city Startup challenge. The program is envisioned to support and scale startups that are building sustainable, inclusive and innovative solutions for smart cities. The month-long program gives selected startups an opportunity to pitch to smart city technology MNCs, smart city officials and the winner will get an equity-free grant of 10 Lakhs for further development.

According to Ramesh Loganathan , Professor- Co-Innovation and Head Research/Innovation Outreach, "The Smart City Living Lab is an attempt to discover cutting edge innovations with smart city use cases and enrich them with our knowledge from research. This Startup Challenge will help discover innovations to enable Smart Cities. The winning teams will get capital, network and knowledge support".

The focus areas for the challenge are water, waste, safety & security, health and energy. Any startups with solutions or products with smart city use cases can apply, especially tech startups working with products with smart city use cases, market ready products with or without customers (revenue is desirable), expertise in commercially deploying the solution and research with market ready products, Application deadline is 1 June 2021.

Smart city technology can make cities more effective and efficient, which is necessary given the projected rapid growth in urban populations over the next few decades. Living labs is all about using technology and data purposefully to make better decisions and deliver a better quality of life. By connecting startups with those searching for smart city solutions, the program will amplify the transformation of city infrastructure. Living Labs is also currently running the Water challenge in association with Government of Telangana & NIUM to find viable solutions to the problems faced regarding water quality, supply and non-revenue water by cities in Telangana.

About Smart City Living Labs:

The Smart City Research Center is set up with support from MEITY (Government of India), Smart City Mission and Government of Telangana at IIITH. The research center includes a Living Lab, that is a setup with support from EBTC and Amsterdam Innovation Arena.There is a huge push for smart cities in India under the Smart Cities Mission, a new initiative by the Government of India to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology to create smart outcomes for citizens. In this ambitious project, 100 cities are being covered for the duration of 5 years with a budget of Rs.100 crore per city per year. The goal of the Living Lab plan is to create an urban area enhancing three value domains: social, economic and environmental. Thus developed Living Lab shall enable the following: 1)Get expertise in IoT for Smart Cities related research and deployment 2)Generate data for research 3)Creation of a viable innovation and demand driven ecosystem in universities.4)Provide a test bench for IoT based Smart City implementations to start-ups as well as big companies

Website: https://smartcityresearch.iiit.ac.in

About IIIT-Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Cognitive Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Atal Incubation Centre-Shiv Nadar University Calls for Start-up Pitches; Onboards Dassault Systemes, HCL Technologies as Partners

Atal Incubation Centre at Shiv Nadar University, Delhi NCR (AIC-SNU), supported by NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (Government of India), has launched the fourth edition of its ‘Venture Challenge’ – a closed-door contest for new technology start-ups or aspiring entrepreneurs to win AIC-SNU’s end-to-end support for growth of their business ideas.

AIC-SNU has joined hands with Dassault Systèmes and HCL Technologies as Technology/Knowledge Partners to provide winners of the ‘Venture Challenge’ contest extended support from the conceptual stage to actualization of their business concepts. Both partners will help the chosen start-ups to scale their ideas, provide technical support, market guidance and access to their networks of key contacts for growth. Additionally, the best start-ups that with breakthrough/disruptive innovation, collective intelligence, or those that aim to positively impact the society will get the chance to participate in the global pitch of Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Lab. Upon further selection, the winning start-ups will be accelerated by the company at global level.

Applications are invited by start-ups in fields including but not limited to:

• Robotic Process Automation, Robotic Surgery, Drones
• Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AR/VR applications, Data Management
• Biotech & Life Sciences, Health-tech, Ed-tech
• Electric Vehicles
• Embedded Products, Edge Computing, Quantum Computing
• Marine and Petrochemical, Aerospace, Automotive

AIC-SNU will run a 12-month incubation program for the selected start-ups, during which it will provide support including physical and intellectual resources, trainings, access to industry mentors, opportunities of interactions with other business leaders, access to angel investors for capital, etc.

The selection criteria for inducting start-ups will include execution capability of founders, innovativeness of the idea, scalability, unit economics and the possible impact.

Speaking about the Incubator’s broader objectives, Anubha Bali, Managing Director of AIC-SNU, said: “Fostering an innovative and entrepreneurial culture form the cornerstones of AIC-SNU and Shiv Nadar University. Our constant endeavour remains to build knowledge for the future, to push new discoveries into the world and to positively impact lives. We are delighted to collaborate with two like-minded partners - Dassault Systèmes and HCL Technologies - to help us cradle the most promising new start-ups.”

The synergetic research and technology resources of Shiv Nadar University Delhi NCR, including access to global researchers, leading academics, 150+ cutting-edge labs and 9 research centers, among other enabling attributes, make AIC-SNU conducive for technology start-ups to thrive.

Deepak NG, Managing Director – India, Dassault Systemes, said: “At Dassault Systemes in India, it is our endeavor to empower, incubate innovative technology ideas, and develop the teams into promising business start-ups of tomorrow. The Venture Challenge’ of Atal Incubation Center- Shiv Nadar University this year will be run on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform with winning start-ups getting an opportunity to pitch their ideas in the quarterly 3DEXPERIENCE Lab pitch globally and an opportunity to be incubated and mentored in the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab network worldwide.”

Anoop Tiwari, Senior Corporate Vice President, Digital Process Operations, HCL Technologies, said: “Nurturing the millennial aspirations that drive the very foundation of the innovation ecosystem is a constant endeavour of HCL Technologies. With an increasing reliance of organizations on solutions such as RPA and AI, it is imperative that enterprises look forward to adapt and quickly innovate. HCL Technologies is delighted to collaborate with Atal Incubation Centre at Shiv Nadar University to launch Venture Challenge that will provide young entrepreneurs and budding start-ups an opportunity to showcase new technologies and their impact on our everyday lives.”

Recently, AIC-SNU also entered partnerships with leading investors networks, Agility Venture Partners, Indian Angel Network (IAN) and 100X.VC, to help budding and new start-ups seek capital funding. AIC-SNU has already incubated more than 30 start-ups since Shiv Nadar University was awarded the prestigious Atal Incubation Center grant by the Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog (Government of India) in the very first round in 2017.

Start-up Challenge Contest 'Chunauti' Launched by IT Minister to Identify 300 Startups and Seed Fund of upto ₹25 Lakh

• IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Launches “Chunauti”- Next Generation Start-up Challenge Contest
• The programme aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh and other facilities
• Lays Foundation of IT Capacity Building Center of NIELIT in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
• Shri Prasad urged the young, talented innovators of India to come forward and avail benefits of Chunauti challenge and create new software products and apps

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad today launched “Chunauti”- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest to further boost startups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns of India. The government has earmarked a budget of Rs. 95.03 Crore over a period of three years for this programme. It aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh and other facilities.

Under this challenge the Ministry of Electronics and IT will invite startups in the following areas of work:

1. Edu-Tech, Agri-Tech & Fin-Tech Solutions for masses
2. Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation Management
3. Infrastructure & Remote monitoring
4. Medical Healthcare, Diagnostic, Preventive & Psychological Care
5. Jobs & Skilling, Linguistic tools & technologies

The startups selected through Chunauti will be provided various support from the Government through Software Technology Parks of India centers across India. They will get incubation facilities, mentorship, security testing facilities, access to venture capitalist funding, industry connect as well as advisories in legal, Human Resource (HR), IPR and Patent matters. Besides seed fund of upto Rs. 25 Lakh, the startups will also be provided cloud credits from leading cloud service providers. Start-ups who are in the ideation stage may be selected under the pre-incubation programme & mentored for up-to six months to evolve their business plan & solution around the proposed idea. Each intern (start-up under pre-incubation) will be paid Rs. 10,000/- per month upto a period of 6 months.

 Startups can apply by visiting the website of STPI or by clicking at the link https://innovate.stpinext.in/

Union Minister also laid foundation stone of the digital training and skilling center of National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) at Muzaffarpur in Bihar. This center will be developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 9.17 Crore. The government of Bihar has allocated one acre of land for this institution. This center will be equipped with the state of the art training facility with a digital laboratory. Different courses such as O level, CCC, BCC, Programming and multimedia training will be offered from this center.

Speaking at a virtual event in presence of Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I urge the young, talented innovators of India to come forward and avail benefits of Chunauti challenge of Government and create new software products and app. This launch is a bold initiative under the clarion call for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Britannia Launches 2nd Edition of its Start-Up Initiative

Britannia has launched the second season of its annual 'Britannia Marie Gold My Startup' initiative, which provides financial assistance to homemakers with entrepreneurial ideas.

This year, the brand has partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to launch India's first-ever skill development programme customised for women with entrepreneurial aspirations.

10,000 women homemakers from across the country will undergo this online certification course between April and June this year. The online training touches upon all key levers of entrepreneurship.

With Britannia MarieGold -- MystartupContest, 10 consumers of BMG shall have the opportunity to kick start their dream venture with a sum of Rs 10 lacs each.

Link - https://www.mystartupcontest.com

Bharat Petroleum Launches Startup Grand Slam with Mega Prize Money

Bharat Petroleum Corporation India leading fuel retailer has launched BPCL Startup Grand Slam Season#1; a Grand Challenge for startups in India. Under this challenge BPCL has publicized 6 problem statements across IoT Analytics AI-ML Asset Performance Management Mobility Solutions CRM etc. consisting BPCL business challenges and invited visionary and innovative startups in India to propose solutions for these problem statements.

Winner of each challenge statement shall be given a grant of Rs. 50 Lacs and also an opportunity to carry out the PoC (Proof of Concept) of the same with BPCL. BPCL also plans to release additional funds of up to Rs. 1.5 Cr to the winning startups if the proposed solution is scalable and required additional funds to do so.



Startups from can apply for BPCL Startup Grand Slam Season#1 on Startup India portal. The last date for applications is 2nd February 2020.Winners shall be selected through a two round process. Finalists shortlisted from the first round have to pitch their solutions in the final round to a jury panel consisting of eminent personalities from startup incubators accelerators VC firms other investors academia as well as experts from Oil Gas industry.

The Startup Grand Season#1 is being organized by BPCL under its Startup support initiative Ankur. Launched in 2016 with the aim to promote promising start-ups and nurture an eco-system conducive for innovations in the country BPCL Ankur initiative has supported 25 startups thus far with a cumulative grant funding of Rs. 25 Cr.

Realizing that although providing grants is really helpful Startups need more support beyond finance to find their footing and commercialize their products BPCL Ankur also offers

• Collaboration and mentoring support for product development


• Access to test facilities labs and business challenges to turn your ideas into fine products and solutions


• Connect with partner eco-systems industry peers and many B2B customers to expand your business


• Challenges campaigns networking events meet ups to build a thriving and connected startup eco-system

Along the way Startups supported by BPCL Ankur have developed many innovative products and solutions. Bandicoot - a robotic system developed by Genrobotic Innovations for manhole and sewer line cleaning aimed at the complete elimination of manual scavenging Inspection of underwater structures tanks through submersible robots by Planys technologies drone based inspection technique developed by Detect Technologies for refinery stack inspection aresome of these innovative solutions that are transforming their respective spheres of activity.

BPCL Ankur is turning a new leaf with Startup Grand Slam Season#1 expanding the outreach of the program and exploring innovative engagement models with startups to make positive impact on the overall Startup eco-system in the country.

~ Newsvoir

Global Startup Awards Comes to India For The First Time

The Global Startup Awards (GSA) has finally come to SAARC for the very first time. The GSA is one of the most prestigious global awards in the startup ecosystem, and is held across 60+ countries.

Nominations for the award are free of any charge and it has already started. Nelson Vasanth is the co-founder and CEO of GSA - SAARC. The key members of SAARC chapters are Nitin Sethi – Chief advisor & Digital officer, Abhay Tandon – Chief Innovative Officer, Ranjeet Kumar – Chief Marketing Officer and Alok Medikepura Anil – Head of Entrepreneurship. Past global winners include Grab, Speedinvest, Rainmaking Loft among others.

The GSA Community is backed by Google, Facebook, IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, SAP and other leading Tech companies of the world

The GSA is the largest independent startup ecosystem competition across the world. The GSA’s only agenda is to find and recognize the next 1% of startups across the world, who will have a transformative impact on the digital future. With its extensive outreach and amazing global network, GSA ensures that its winners are able to connect with potential partners, investors, peers, and other unprecedented opportunities.

Although this is the first season of the GSA SAARC Awards, the award started in 2012 in Denmark and has since branched out across regions including ASEAN, Central Europe, EuroAsia, Southern Africa, and South Europe.

The format of the award is fairly simple yet comprehensive. At the first stage, which is the national stage, people can nominate startups across various categories, including Best Accelerator or Incubator, Best Startup of the year, Best Social impact and Female Role model anyone is allowed to nominate a startup, keeping the process as open as possible, and allowing them to source the best startups across SAARC.

A shortlist of the best startups in each category is then curated by a set of advisors most of whom are among the top mentors, investors, and startup advisors in the country. Interestingly, the competition also allows the public to have a say, and once the shortlist is prepared, a public voting is opened. This means that the public perception of the startup and its value also gets taken into account while deciding the winners.

Using a combination of jury opinion and public votes, the winners in SAARC will be declared across the different award categories. Once the national winners are decided, they will compete against the winners from the other SAARC (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka) nations in the regional round.

Finally, the winners of the GSA SAARC awards will then compete at the Global Awards Grand Finale, where the best startups across the globe will be decided.

Over the past 7 years, the GSA has built an incredible reputation, simply because it’s one of the few awards that is so global in its outreach, is completely transparent about its process, and has no hidden agendas whatsoever.

The global network it provides access to can open up a world of opportunities for the Indian startups that win or are simply shortlisted for the competition. It will also be interesting to see how the winners from the India competition fare against both regional as well as global competition says CEO, Nelson Vasanth

Website: http://www.saarcstartupawards.com

Apex body for Rural Development to Host Rural Innovators Startup Conclave in September

The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) would host the 3rd edition of Rural Innovators Startup Conclave (RISC) on September 27-28 at the Institute campus at Rajendranagar Hyderabad.

The two-day conclave would serve as a platform to showcase a wide array of budding entrepreneurs, rural innovators and aspirant startups to demonstrate their design ideas, innovations, technologies, pitch, and get an opportunity to receive learning and mentoring support, the
NIRDPR said in a release.

Being introduced in the memory of late President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, RISC-2019 seeks to provide a platform to innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations and connect them with potential funding and network support, it said.

The themes of the conclave are Agriculture & Allied Activities, Green Energy Solution, Waste to Wealth, Health & Elderly Care, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Housing, and Sustainable Livelihood, it said.

[blockquote footer=""]The best innovations and startups identified on the occasion would be awarded cash prizes of one lakh rupees for startups and fifty thousand rupees for innovators, besides a fellowship for one-year to participate in tailor-made workshops on themes such as design, packaging, marketing, to be organized by NIRDPR.[/blockquote]

"Humongous problems which are plaguing the rural areas can only be addressed by constant infusion of innovations and technologies focused on mitigating these issues.

The RISC programme aims to provide critical support to innovators from rural areas who know these issues better than anyone else to work towards addressing these challenges," W R Reddy, Director General, NIRDPR,said. PTI SJR

Texas Instruments, AICTE, DST and IIM-B Tie -up to bring Innovation Challenge Contest to Engg. Students in India

Texas Instruments India (TI India), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education in India, Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) have joined hands to strengthen the innovation ecosystem, enhance skills and drive a start-up culture amongst engineering students by ensuring that India Innovation Challenge Design Contest (IICDC) is accessible to students even in remote corners of the country. IICDC is a national design contest for engineering students.

The announcement was made at the finals of IICDC 2018, coinciding with the announcement of this year’s top 10 winning teams. The 10 finalists will get an opportunity to take their start-up idea from the lab to the market, supported by a fund from DST of INR 4.94 Crore, incubation at NSRCEL, the innovation and entrepreneurship hub at IIM Bangalore, and technical mentorship from TI engineers along with access to TI tools and technology. To-date, IICDC has incubated 20 start-ups.

[caption id="attachment_132591" align="alignleft" width="550"] Chairman Award, SRM Institute of Science &Technology, Tamil Nadu[/caption]

SRM Institute of Science and Technology from Tamil Nadu won the Chairman Award for Technical Innovation on ‘Inkless Printing Technology’. A. P. Shah Institute of Technology from Maharashtra was the first runners up for their innovation ‘Solar Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Node’ and Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College from Puducherry was adjudged second runners up award on their innovation ‘Mustard Seed Processor Machine’.

[caption id="attachment_132590" align="alignleft" width="551"] First RunnerUp Award for IICDC 2018, A. P. Shah Institute of Technology, Maharashtra[/caption]

Congratulating the IICDC 2018 winners, Sanjay Srivastava, Director, TI India University Program said, “IICDC’s vision is to give students an opportunity to be innovators and entrepreneurs, launching path-breaking technology products and solving tough, real-world challenges. In 2018, IICDC reached more than 26,000 students from 1760 colleges and we received over 10,000 ideas! The diversity of students fuelled the diversity of ideas. For instance, several ideas focus on agriculture – a segment widely deprived of technology advances. Interestingly, more than 90% of participation comes from Tier II and Tier III towns. That’s the kind of grassroots innovation we want to drive through IICDC.”

Elaborating on the partnership with IICDC, Prof. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, said, “AICTE’s mission to develop robust technical institutions and promote a scientific mind-set is perfectly aligned with IICDC’s mission to strengthen technical innovation in India. We see students as India’s change-makers with the responsibility to drive cutting edge technological innovation. We understand that the next big idea can come from any corner of the country! Our message to the student community is simple - no matter which college you study in or which pin code you reside in, if you have a powerful idea and a drive to make a difference, IICDC will give you an opportunity to achieve your goal.”

The last three editions of IICDC saw students file over 150 patents, and the numbers are increasing every year. Dr. Anita Gupta, Associate Head, DST, said, “We continue to partner with IICDC because it is a unique, powerful platform to drive student-led, tech-focused innovation. DST’s goal is to transform India to a global hub for innovation in science and technology. We also want to support innovation that can make an impact on the ground, tackling social, economic and environmental challenges. IICDC helps strengthen the innovation ecosystem by providing an opportunity to students to develop creative solutions for real world problems. Our seed funding to the winning teams aims to bring the best of these ideas to life.”

Professor Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chair, NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, said, “Though IIMB is not a technical institution, we believe strongly that we can aid in the creation of sustainable technical ventures through our expertise in developing businesses. Our collaboration with TI-DST in the last 4 years’ IICDC is a testimony to that. At NSRCEL, IIMB’s innovation and entrepreneurial centre, we have successfully incubated around 50 students to help shape their entrepreneurial ideas into start-ups."

By forging partnerships with multiple stakeholders with far reaching influence in technical education, expertise in business and management, industry knowhow, IICDC aims to foster an innovation and entrepreneurial culture amongst engineering students in India, and to empower them to launch successful companies with a clear purpose to make the world a better place.

IICDC 2019 launch officially announced

TI India also announced the upcoming edition of TI India Innovation Challenge Design Contest (IICDC) 2019 which opens for registration from July 23, 2019 to August 30, 2019. Students can register their innovative ideas and participate in the contest through this link: innovate.mygov.in/iicdc2019/

Elevator Pitch Contest Returns with a Never-Before Opportunity for Startups

Entry is now open for the second edition of Elevator Pitch Contest, an enviable opportunity for start-up entrepreneurs to transform their business with a 3-minute pitch. Co-hosted by Lufthansa and TiE Delhi-NCR under the ambit of the Start-up Expo event, the unique challenge adds further punch to the extremely popular launch edition, with an unprecedented Grand Prize covering the key building blocks of startup success. With entries open till 30 July 2019, the Contest provides start-ups the chance to win:

• 
  
• Direct access to investors: An opportunity to work from the offices of Indian Angel Network, connecting directly with angel investors for an understanding of the investment process.



• Cambridge Ignite, an entrepreneurship program: A sponsorship to Ignite, the coveted global programme for entrepreneurs at Cambridge University, UK.


• Lufthansa Business Class ticket to Europe


• Dedicated mentor: A mentor dedicated to the winning startup for 6-months


• TiE expertise & resources: A complimentary membership of TiE Delhi-NCR providing access to an exclusive network of business experts and resources.

The top 3 challengers in the multi-stage contest, enter the Grand Finale, which will take place at Start-up Expo 4 – the largest ecosystem for start-up success – on 28 September 2019. The finalists get an opportunity to pitch live before an eminent jury and audience comprising business experts, industry leaders and senior government functionaries.

“Start-ups are an important growth engine powering India’s economic leadership. Lufthansa is privileged to be an enabler for these young new-age entrepreneurs by opening doors to a world of new opportunities,” said George Ettiyil, Senior Director Sales South Asia – Lufthansa Group.

“The Elevator Pitch is a dream challenge for start-up founders. It is tailor-made to their needs, providing them access to investors, mentors, business experts and a seat at a global entrepreneurship program – exactly what they need for success,” added Geetika Dayal, Executive Director – TiE Delhi-NCR.

Registration to the contest is free of cost and will remain open till July 30, 2019. Start-ups can apply online at www.lufthansastartupexpo.in. A distinguished jury comprising prominent business leaders across multiple domains will shortlist the applicants in a multistage selection process. The pitches will be evaluated on parameters such as product, USP, scalability, and market opportunity, besides others.



Through focussed initiatives such as the Elevator Pitch Contest among many others, the Start-up Expo has become a key catalyst driving transformation and growth for Indian start-ups. The event will take place at Epicentre, Apparel House, in Gurgaon on September 28, 2019.

The Start-up Expo is a high-visibility transformative platform which brings together all the essential ingredients needed to drive entrepreneurial growth under one roof and makes it accessible to emerging ventures – completely free of cost! The 2018 edition of the Start-up Expo saw 20,000 participants and 500 start-up exhibitors from 175 cities interact with 200+ mentors and experts, 100+ partners, and 75+ investors. Apart from facilitating more than 1,000 investor meetings, the one-day event gave entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their ventures, engage with investors and government stakeholders, attend knowledge-sharing sessions, and explore networking and business opportunities.

The Start-up Expo 4 aims to build on that impressive reception and drive greater growth and scale for more high-potential ventures across the country.

Haryana forms Startup Think-Tank 'Begin'; To hold Annual Startup Competition 'SUPRATI' in Colleges, Varsities

Delhi's adjoining state of Haryana has formed a think-tank for startups named as 'Begin' which will support start-up ventures in its Gurugram-based warehouse

Begin is formed by HARTRON (Haryana State Electronics Development Corporation), the Haryana's nodal agency for promoting electronics and IT. Its objective is to help startups by focusing on the essentials like digital preparedness, intellectual property norms, patents and other legal aspects.

Haryana govt backed Startup Warehouse is located in Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar at Harton Innovation campus, where currently about 45 startups are working.

In an another report, the higher education department of Haryana is said to be launching an Annual Startup Competition -- Startup Pratiyogita (SUPRATI) in colleges and universities across the state. The shortlisted students or teams will be awarded with Rs five lakh of seed money at the state level function,. This announcement was mad yesterday by Haryana's Education Minister.

The move from the state comes in order to accelerate the startup ecosystem in the state by developing a conducive environment for the Startups and promoting Entrepreneurial Education in the state-based colleges and universities.

A year ago, Haryana got its first startup incubation centre in Panchkula and a provision of Rs 10 crore to support students, who are studying in the state's colleges and universities and want to launch their own startups.

Last October, NASSCOM collaborated with the Haryana government to launch Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Internet of Things (IoT) at Gurugram. The CoE is part of NASSCOM's nation-wide network of CoEs announced in 2015.

Prior to that, the state government had announced that it is planning to build the India's biggest startup hub called Startup Village> in Gurgaon over the next couple of years.

In September 2017, Haryana had also announced setting up of first Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) in Gurugram under Haryana's new state startup policy.

Mysuru-based VyavaSahaaya, Bayer CropScience throws Tech Challenge for Startups, Engg. Students

Over the past one year, there has been a rising incidence of fall armyworm (FAW) in corn crops across Africa and South America. This deadly pest can cause drastic damage to corn crops and can reduce yields by up to 40%. Such damage can be highly devastating for smallholder farmers as it directly impacts their crop yields and farm incomes and stunts their livelihood.

In India, the fall armyworm was first reported in July 2018 in Karnataka. Within a year, the pest has spread on an epidemic scale in more than ten corn-producing states of India. Farmers need timely, effective and innovative measures to control and eradicate FAW.

VyavaSahaaya, a Mysuru-based Agri-food open innovation platform, has announced a technology challenge to combat FAW in corn, in collaboration with Bayer CropScience Limited, a leading player in Crop Protection.

VyavaSahaayaa is a product of Aasalabs Technology Private Limited, which is a startup incubated at Deshpande Foundation’s Hubballi Sandbox. The Agri-Food Open Innovation platform enables problem owners such as foundations, corporates, research bodies to propose business, technology and social challenges that are complex or novel or have no established best practice approach and problem solvers to design actionable solutions.

The challenge is open till June 16, 2019, to start-ups and students of engineering colleges. Teams of two to five members are invited to develop digital tools that can offer timely and context-specific information to enable farmers to track, spot and treat the FAW pest in their cornfields. For more details about the technology challenge, please visit vyavasahaaya.com

The top two entries will win funding to cover the cost of development of their digital tool/solution. Bayer CropScience Limited will also partner with one of the winners to commercialize the digital solution across key corn-producing states of India.

~ Business Wire India

Zero Carbon Accelerator for Small Business Launches in Wellington

A helping hand for local small enterprises has launched for 2019, aiming to build thriving businesses working to reduce carbon emissions in the areas of Housing and Building, Energy, Waste, and Transport.

Sponsored by the Wellington City Council and Callaghan Innovation, the Zero Carbon Challenge is an eight week programme bringing together the business, social enterprise, and local government sectors to work together to develop the low carbon economy and get a few great Wellington businesses going along the way.

Currently, Wellington City produces net 1.1 million tonnes of carbon every year. If those emissions were trapped in a balloon, it would hold 675 times the volume of the Westpac Stadium. To stay in the climate safe zone, Wellington needs need to cut emissions by half in the next 11 years, then to zero by 2050. The Council’s Te Atakura - First to Zero blueprint outlines a plan to do just that.



Formerly named the Low Carbon Challenge, the programme launched four years ago. Since then, alumni like Mevo, Organic Dynamic, and Wā Collective have grown into thriving businesses doing their part to help Wellington reduce its carbon emissions. Past participant Olie Body of Wā Collective says: “The Zero Carbon Challenge gave us such a solid grounding and boost, not only in the eco-system of Wellington start-up, but within New Zealand. Through passionate, skilled mentorship and experiential learning, our team was met with the support and challenge we needed. I couldn't speak of this venture highly enough and recommend the Zero Carbon Challenge to anyone wanting to really make a difference in this space and level up their business game”.

The programme will offer mentorship and networking across Wellington for early stage businesses, as well as a stipend to support each team’s journey. It is delivered by PledgeMe, New Zealand’s first crowdfunding platform, which means more time spent refining the business’ story and engaging with their crowd and customers. After eight weeks of workshops, mentoring, and training in June and July, all teams will launch a PledgeMe campaign to fund their work.

In addition, the Zero Carbon Challenge gives new businesses and initiatives the tools and connections they need to succeed long past the Challenge. All successful campaigners will have access to matched funding from the ZCC Partnership Fund to keep scaling their business.

Colm Kearney of Callaghan Innovation says: ‘We believe Kiwis can lead the world in developing technology that accelerates positive environmental change. That’s why Callaghan Innovation are proud to support the Zero Carbon Challenge, with its aim of embedding more low carbon businesses within our community.’

Applications are now open at www.zerocarbonchallenge.nz

Danamojo and RoadBounce Win ₹5 Lakh Seed Funding Each in Startup Reality Show PitchRight S02

PitchRight S02, an initiative by Zone Startups India, comes to its conclusion with the final shoot of the Grand Finale episode that announced the winners of the season. The Grand Finale was a curated, invite-only event that saw presence of close to 100 guests, which largely included investors, corporates, industry leaders and media personnel.

Launched in February last year, PitchRight has a unique format that focuses on improving the startup pitch of an entrepreneur through a 45-second elevator pitch, followed by a one-on-one feedback session.

PitchRight S01 garnered more than 350K views on Zone Startup India’s YouTube playlist, while receiving positive reviews from viewers for its fresh approach on the idea of an elevator pitch in a very literal sense. PitchRight S02 was launched in August 2018 by further making the experience of elevator pitches thrilling. This season has garnered over 320K views within a span of 90 days, on different digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Times MX Player.

With over 240 applications received this season, the top 13 entrepreneurs from diverse sectors of technology were shortlisted to feature in the series. The episodes were shot in the month of October 2018 at the Bombay Stock Exchange building, that houses the office of Zone Startups India. The series, featuring 4-5 minute episodes, went live in December 2018 with one episode releasing each week.

Prolific angel investor Sanjay Mehta has been a judge on the show for both the seasons. He has many achievements and awards under his belt and has invested in over 100 startups till date, that includes some well-known names like Oyo Rooms, Box8, Zippr, LogiNext, PrettySecrets, Unbxd and FabAlley. He is an active member of many investment networks in India.



“PitchRight S02 finale reality show was inspiring, full of excitement due to so many unknowns. It was a real thriller as the entrepreneurs pitched to the investors to make a deal. Everyone was on the spot be it investors as they had to commit money, real money instantaneously and entrepreneurs had to accept or refuse the offer right away. It's a challenge for entrepreneurs to go live pitching & very few can dare. Lastly I can say that PitchRight reality show has superbly motivated entrepreneurship in India,” said Sanjay Mehta, sharing from his experience of hosting the Grand Finale of PitchRight.

PitchRight S02 ran 13 episodes featuring the 13 shortlisted entrepreneurs over 4 months. The top 9 scorers with the best elevator pitch made it to the Grand Finale. The Grand Finale was shot live at Cafe Zoe in Mumbai, presided by an esteemed jury consisting of industry stalwarts like Anoop Mathur (President - CORE Media), Anuj Munot (Angel Investor), Jitendra Gupta (Founder - PayU) and Nirav Choksi (Founder - Credable). Host Sanajay Mehta helmed the Grand Finale for startup pitches and negotiations for fundraising.

The finalists pitched their startups during the live shoot to raise on-spot funding from top angel investors and seed investment from Zone Startups India. The startup pitch of 3 minutes each was followed by a feedback session and negotiations for potential on-spot funding.

After an interesting dynamic of startup pitches showcased at the Grand Finale, Zone Startups India announced Dhaval Udani, Founder of danamojo, and Ranjeet Deshmukh, Founder of RoadBounce, as the two winners of PitchRight S02, who were selected for a seed fund investment of INR 5 lakhs each.

On-spot funding was granted by several key investors. A total of INR 1 crore 45 lakhs on-spot funding was offered to 4 startups, out of which 2 startups raised a total of 75 lakhs post negotiations at the Grand Finale Demo Day. These will now be syndicated through a seed round to be led by Let’s Venture, Investment Partner of PitchRight S02. Atharva Sabnis, Co-founder of Atron, raised the highest on-spot funding on the day.

Based on the live scoring done by investors, corporates, mentors, media and other key stakeholders from the audience panel, the People’s Choice Award winner, with the maximum votes, was announced as Prasad Kajarekar, Co-founder of GameBlitz. He received a grant of INR 50,000/- from Zone Startups India.

Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director India, Zone Startups said, “PitchRight is a format that we conceptualized mainly for curating content around how to get your elevator pitch right. We have had some really good viewership of the content - which is good validation of the format. However, what has been more encouraging this year, is the turnout of investors at the Grand Finale, and participating in a round of live, on-spot funding - a truly enriching experience for all involved. We look forward to taking the format to greater heights with some strong partnerships lined up for the upcoming seasons."

Season 02 of PitchRight is supported by Department of Science and Technology (GoI) and presented by LazyPay, in association with DigitalOcean as the cloud partner, Vidooly as the online video partner, Eske as the gift sponsor & LetsVenture as the investment partner.

Zone Startup India's YouTube channel - http://bit.ly/ZSIYouTube.

Here is the link to PitchRight YouTube playlist for all S01 & S02 episodes - http://bit.ly/PitchRightYouTubePlaylist.

Indian Startup Wobot Wins Innovation Prize at Seedstars Global 2019

Seedstars World, the biggest startup competition focusing on emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, held its grand finale with the sixth edition of the Global Seedstars Summit. Over 1000 people attended the event in Lausanne, Switzerland, together with startups, investors, mentors and corporates, from all over the globe.

14 out of 67 startups invited were from Asia and two were among the 12 finalists on Seedstar Summit day.

Blended, the leading school platform in Latin America, was ccrowned as Winner of the competition.

Besides, an Indian startup Wobot has been selected as winner of Innovation Prize by Tag Heuer, one of the category in the competition. Headquartered in Delhi, Wobot is a Computer Vision solutions startup that automate monitoring of surveillance systems and compliance checks by deploying a layer of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on CCTV infrastructure.

[caption id="attachment_129625" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Tanay Dixit, Product Head at WOBOT, receiving the Innovation Prize Award on the Final Summit Day[/caption]

After covering 80+ countries throughout 2018 with local and regional competitions, Seedstars invited all winners to Switzerland. They had the chance to compete for different prizes, including up to $500K in equity investment and the title of Seedstars Global Winner.

The Seedstars Summit is not only a conference but an opportunity for stakeholders active in impact investment, tech and entrepreneurship to network and benefit from a unique hands-on growth experience. During April 2nd and 3rd, startups participated in a two-day bootcamp with more than 60 experts supporting them in achieving their next milestones. During the private Investor Forum on April 4th, 12 finalists were selected to compete on the main stage. On the Summit Day - April 5th - the startups delivered 3-minute pitches on the main stage in front of more than 1,000 hand-picked ecosystem builders, corporates, investors, startup enthusiasts representing some of the most prominent names of tech and entrepreneurship in emerging markets.


“The Seedstars experience, I believe, is very important for entrepreneurs. More than the money, I have received so much and taken in so many great ideas from entrepreneurs all over the world. Seedstars work is fundamental in showcasing that great companies exist everywhere.” says Hernandez, CFO & Founder of  Blended: a mobile communication platform connecting schools with families in Latin America. With a user friendly collaborative interface, they optimize communication, and improve learning results with state-of-the-art technology at an affordable cost.

According to Pierre-Alain Masson co-founder at Seedstars, “We are very proud to be supporting all these entrepreneurs and we’ll continue to expand our activities with the launch of new acceleration and training programs across the world. We’ll also be announcing more funding to these unbelievable entrepreneurs that we have seen on stage all week.”

On top of the $500,000 investment prize for the Seedstars Global Winner, Seedstars and its partners awarded 7 additional prizes:

• Public Prize by Vaud: SPEI allowed the Summit attendees to vote for the best tech start-ups among the Seedstars Global Competition winners. YNMO from Saudi Arabia is a SaaS that allows disabilities service providers including schools, centers & clinics to design and monitor individualized treatment plans.


• Labeskey / Schoolap, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, won the Transforming Education Prize by TRECC and the School of Management Fribourg, winning access to the Seedstars Growth Program worth $50,000. The online platform provides tools to improve the education system with school administration management modules.


• TAG Heuer, Seedstars World official timekeeper, partnered with Seedstars Summit to reward the Innovation Prize to Wobot. The Indian startup allows companies to automate their surveillance systems with Artificial Intelligence.


• Seedstars Vaccine Delivery Challenge was awarded to the South African startup Iyeza, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. $10,000 will be provided to improve their web platform for the delivery of Human PapillomaVirus (HPV) vaccine to young women.


• Also with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Seedstars Malaria Challenge was awarded to Medsaf, through their platform, the Nigerian startup connects pharmacies and hospitals with safe and cost-effective medication.


• Along with Seedstars, Merck awarded the Life Science Prize to Oxpecker Labs from Hong Kong. They will participate in the Merck Acceleration program and scale up their non-invasive sweat sensor to help prevent dehydration and heat strokes.


• 7keema, the first on-demand home nursing services of its kind from Egypt, won the Rising Tide Foundation Empowerment Prize. They won access to the Seedstars Growth Program as well as an equity investment.

In order to have true impact Seedstars can count on the support of great partners: SPEI, School of Management Fribourg, TRECC, TAG Heuer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rising Tide Foundation, EPFL, CVCI, Lausanne Région and Ville de Lausanne, Nespresso.

Additionally, 8 startups from developed markets looking to expand or solve problems in emerging markets pitched on the Breakout Stage. Tag Heuer crowned DOT Glasses winner and Noisypeak runner-up. hiLyte came out third and was supported by our partner Logitech.

Moreover, Seedstars is proud to announce its partnership with First Growth Ventures' founders Tamim El Zein and Maxime Bouan to launch a $100mn sub-Saharan Africa venture fund. The fund will focus on early stage investments from USD 250 thousand to USD 5 million in the most promising innovative ventures across sectors and countries. The fund is the first of a series of regional funds Seedstars will launch in the coming years to continue the mission of accelerating and supporting entrepreneurs at all stages.

IIT Kanpur Alumni Association to Organize 16th Edition of Startup Master Class

IIT Kanpur Alumni Association is all set to organize the 16th Edition Startup Master Class (SMC), “Stepping into 20-20” on April 6th at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Startup Master Class (SMC) is the flagship entrepreneur event of Alumni Association IIT Kanpur, organized along-with IITK Incubation centre, eCell and other participating IIT’s and IIMs. Fostering and nurturing budding entrepreneurs, it brings together start-ups, mentors and investors to build interactions and strengthen the network within the entrepreneurial community.

With its previous 15 editions, organised in diverse location pan India, SMC has engaged over 6000 start-up enthusiasts, 500+ delegates, 1000+ start-ups and this has created an ecosystem for start-ups to leverage the power of the Alumni - the expertise, mentoring, funding, government and corporate connects - to support their journey.

16th Edition will trace the changing game with string leadership at Delhi, exciting entrepreneurs & the proximity of the central policy driving dignitaries. The focus areas will include Healthcare, Mobility and Fintech.

Healthcare would highlight Infrastructure, affordable care along with the innovations that are important for the right scaling up in India. Mobility will touch upon transport as it continues to evolve given the expanse of the country, its large population. Besides being affordable, renewable, efficient and non polluting sources are the key. Fintech which will draw on the currency, payments, security and the ease of transaction required in the near time. How Fintech will evolve in India and the changing role of the stake holders will be considered.

Dr. Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman of CA India, Mr. Sanjeev Bikhchandani Founder and Vice Chairman, InfoEdge (Naukri.com), Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO Niti Aayog & 14 years old Saad Nasser, Co-Founder, ATI Motors will be delivering the keynote address.

Also present on the occasion will be Mr. Rahul Gupta Founder Moglix, Mr. Abhiraj Bhal Co-founder UrbanClap, Mr. Saurabh Kumar EESL, Mr. Rahul Garg Founder, Mobilex and many more.

More details about SMC available here https://startupmasterclass.in/

Startup Master Class is the flagship entrepreneur event of the Alumni Association IIT Kanpur, organised along-with IITK Incubation centre, eCell and other participating IIT’s and IIMs. Fostering and nurturing budding entrepreneurs, it brings together start-ups, mentors and investors to build interactions and strengthen the network within the entrepreneurial community.

SMC came into existence some 4 years ago. SMC is a fully volunteer run, not for profit network of passionate individuals and institutions (alumni of PAN IIT network) combining their skills and resources in support of the activities to promote entrepreneurship. SMC has also signed up an MOU with Niti Aayog to further build momentum and deeper penetrations in the startup catchment area.