AHMEDABAD, Friday, April 13, 2018: The International Centre for Entrepreneurship & Technology (iCreate), the Gujarat-based Centre of Excellence for entrepreneurship, innovation and technology, hosted a 2-day “Workshop of States: Startup India Ecosystem Knowledge-Sharing Workshop”, an initiative by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) to further the drive the Indian startup ecosystem at its sprawling 50-acre campus in Deo Dholera, Ahmedabad, on April 11 and 12, 2018.
iCreate had been selected among India’s top 3 incubators by DIPP to host this workshop, to share the key factors that make Gujarat rank among the top states in India for its vibrant startup ecosystem, as well as share their own best practices, along with support of the Government of Gujarat, that makes iCreate among the key contributors to Gujarat’s ecosystem, with the other participating incubators and state delegates at this workshop.
The DIPP conceptualised this initiative around mid-March 2018 and has successfully completed the second leg of the programme at iCreate, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Through this initiative, the DIPP aims to facilitate sharing of best practices between states and gather and engage with leaders and authorities of various states around India. This is a national state-wise peer –to-peer knowledge-sharing workshop, to learn from the best practices, industrial policies, start-up framework, funding initiatives, etc. of leading incubators and states of the country and share it with the participating states, to try and replicate it in their own states.
Sharing her thoughts on the workshop, Ms. Shruti Singh, Deputy Secretary, DIPP said “The intent behind this knowledge workshop was to provide a forum for States to come together and not just have their queries addressed but also foster cross-learning and experiential learning by observing the facilities at one of the leading Incubators in India. The two days have brought lessons, clarifications, network connects and I thank Government of Gujarat and iCreate for facilitating the same.”
The workshop on Day 1 commenced with Dr. Vandana Kumar, Joint Secretary, DIPP opening the session followed by Ms. Mamta Verma, Industries Commissioner, Gujarat, who threw light on the vibrant Gujarat startup ecosystem. Taking over from Ms. Verma, Mr. Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate presented an overview of iCreates offerings and solutions to startups, thereafter taking the participants on a tour of the iCreate campus. A panel discussion with the CEOs on the top incubation centres such as CiiE, crAdle, Aashray Foundation and inCube Ventures was conducted on “Organising startup promotion events and the role of corporate partnerships”. Each incubator presented 2 of their startups wherein the founders discussed their journey and shared their entrepreneurial challenges and concerns.
Ms. Mamta Verma, Industries Commissioner, Government of Gujarat said, “The aim of Startup India Ecosystem Knowledge Sharing Workshop is to get various states together so that they can exchange learnings, thoughts and best practices. The Government of Gujarat through its very comprehensive startup policy has almost 32 institutions and over 160 projects which are being incubated through various incubation centres. This is a testament to the fact that our initiatives towards building a vibrant startup ecosystem have been successful. To further these initiatives, iCreate is playing a significant role in developing and strengthening the startup ecosystem not only in Gujarat but also for all other states. With over 100 startups that they are presently nurturing, they are able to offer several best practices in term of procedures, mentoring of entrepreneurs and nurturing startups.”
The second day of the workshop started by Ms Shruti Singh shared the detailed guidelines for the startup India Ranking Framework. Invest India presented policies and individual states’ best practices followed by a session with Sanjay Randhar, MD of Gujarat Venture Finance Limited (GVFL) who shared his thoughts on seed funding, venture funds and Fund of Funds. A session was also held by Pavan Bakeri, MD of Bakeri Group who shared insights on how startups can catalyse angel investments and shared a brief comparative analysis on Indian and international startup policies and best practices. The workshop was included a session by Mr. SB Dangayach, MD of Sintex Industries who discussed the role of corporates in encouraging startups and exploring synergies with them. There was also a one-on-one session with various states paired together to discuss individual scenarios of the startup landscape in each state. The workshop concluded with closing remarks by Ms. Shruti Singh and Dr. Vandana Kumar.
All participating states shared key takeaways based on the workshop and ways by which they can implement the learning into their own state practices.
Concluding the two day knowledge sharing workshop, Mr. Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate said, “We are delighted to have hosted this two day workshop wherein the DIPP intends to drive the exchange of knowledge for the states that are initiating their journey to set up policies and framework for a conducive start-up ecosystem. For example, the Gujarat Government was one of the earliest to come up with the start-up policy and has very aggressively driven real tangible outcomes. Hence, the Gujarat Government has several experiences, successes and failures that they can share with other states. In this endeavor, to build successful businesses, iCreate offers startups a light touch model in which we give out space to startups, exposure to investors, to mentors and to market penetrations experts.”
About iCreate:
iCreate is an initiative of GFEE (Gujarat Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence), a Section 25, now a section 8 Company, and is a 50:50 Public Private Partnership between GMDC Ltd. (Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation) and GEVPF (Gujarat Entrepreneurship and Venture Promotion Foundation). iCreate is governed by a statutory Board, with members from GMDC and GEVPF. Since its inception, iCreate has been supported by a strong Advisory Board with 12 leading stalwarts from India as well as abroad, initially chaired by Shri Narayana Murthy, Co-founder, Infosys and is now led by Chairman Shri Dilip Shanghvi, Founder & MD, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. For more details, please visit:
