New Delhi, January 12
Celebrating eight years of the Startup India programme, the 'Startup India Innovation Week 2024' commenced this week with an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with ecosystem enablers.
Eight virtual Ask Me Anything (AMA) live sessions are planned to be conducted from January 10-17 with relevant stakeholders to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship in India.
The Ask Me Anything session focused on 'Opportunities for Budding Startups through Incubators', giving startups and entrepreneurs insights on various sources of seed funding available.
The session also provided valuable guidance on the different stages of the startup journey, from the initial spark of an idea to finally entering the market. It was live-streamed on Startup India's social media channels.
The first mentorship session under the MAARG Mentorship Series for budding entrepreneurs focused on 'From Idea to Execution: Building a Solid Business Plan'.
The session shared insights into the process of transforming entrepreneurial ideas into a well-structured business plan, engaging the participants and explaining the fundamentals using case studies depicting challenging scenarios. The session was also hosted on the MY Bharat portal for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Further, 'Startup Shala', Startup India's flagship accelerator programme, was launched for extensive handholding of startups at the scaleup stage. The initiative is a three-month-long accelerator programme for early-stage startups to provide them access to knowledge, networks, funds, or guidance required to scale up.
Each programme cohort will focus on a particular sector, the first one being the clean-tech sector. The applications have been opened on the Startup India portal from January 10, 2024.
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, while addressing the India-UAE Business Summit during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, highlighted India's booming startup landscape and the way ahead for the growth of the startup ecosystem.
Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Sanjiv, participated in various engagements and also addressed and highlighted the importance of international exposure for Indian startups and the crucial role a startup bridge plays in easing international market access.
Celebrating Indian innovations across the country, incubators organised startup-related events at their centres as well. On January 10, 2024, nine such engaging events took place physically in seven different states across nine cities.
Over 800 entrepreneurs and student entrepreneurs attended the events. The events provided opportunities for startup showcases, mentorship sessions, and engaging panel discussions, among others.