Himachal Pradesh Department of Industries Director Rajesh Kumar Prajapati flaged off the Startup Exploration Batch
New Delhi, NFAPost: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi Catalyst started its 2nd Startup Exploration programme of 2021. Himachal Pradesh Dept. of Industries Director Rajesh Kumar Prajapati virtually flagged off the programme.
Along with the chief guest, the virtual event was graced by the esteemed presence of IIT Mandi Director Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Peak Ventures Managing Partner Samir Shah and faculty members of IIT Mandi.
As many as 23 startup teams including 11 from Himachal Pradesh working in sectors including Waste Management, Agrotech, Healthtech, Enterprise Management, and Cleantech participated in the inaugural session.
Speaking at the function, guest of honour Rajesh Kumar Prajapati encouraged the startups teams from various parts of the country and congratulated them on their brave decision to start a venture.
“It is encouraging fact that Himachal Pradesh got the seventh rank in the country for ‘Ease of doing Business’ in 2019 by the Ministry of Finance. On completing your incubation programme at IIT Mandi Catalyst, I invite all the young entrepreneurs to get the benefits of the ecosystem developed by the Dept. of Industries in Himachal Pradesh,” said Rajesh Kumar Prajapati.
He ensured continued support from Himachal Pradesh Centre for Entrepreneurship Development. Along with this, the Chief guest lauded the initiatives taken by IIT Mandi Catalyst to support budding entrepreneurs who are coming to Himachal with various business ideas and finding practical solutions for the community, state and other parts of the country.
Peak Ventures Managing Partner Samir Shah shared his views with startups on how to make ideas successful. “Entrepreneurs should choose tough problems to solve and eventually the solutions will help them to grow their business exponentially. There also need for entrepreneurs to be flexible and adaptable to the situations,” said Samir Shah.
The 23 startups selected by IIT Mandi Catalyst will go through a rigorous training and mentoring process over the next three months after which they will present their refined ideas on a demo day. Most suitable ideas will be further supported by IIT Mandi Catalyst through a one-year program under various funding schemes.
It is noteworthy that IIT Mandi Catalyst has supported about 140 startups in eight startup batches till now and this will be the ninth batch of startups in the last five years. Earlier this year, IIT Mandi Catalyst was given the responsibility by the State government to distribute INR 10 Cr under the Him Startup Yojana that provides up to INR 50 Lakhs to the startups for commercialization.
