Tata Group in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM Calcutta), announced the 7th edition of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge 2018 to find India’s most promising early-stage social innovators. Entrepreneurs can submit their business plans online, by logging onto www.tatasechallenge.org. The last day to submit the Impact Proposal (business plan) online is 30th September, 2018.
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) in association with Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has launched North East Accelerator Program (NEAP) to create a supportive eco-system for the entrepreneurs in North-east with STPI and Ennovent as partners of the initiative. Out of over 150 applications from start-ups across North-east, 12 most scalable ideas were shortlisted and subsequently considered for acceleration by IIMCIP. A total of 3 bootcamps were held in Guwahati, Assam. The first one was held from April 3 to 5 at the National Institute of Rural Development while the second was held from June 8 to 9 at the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship. The third bootcamp was held from August 2 to 3 at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Start-ups from the following domain are part of NEAP: Food and Agriculture, Logistics, Education, Fashion and Tourism. The program concluded with Demo Day where NEAP start-ups pitched to investors from banks and FIs, investor organisations, HNIs located at Assam, Kolkata and Bangalore.
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) in association with Department of Science & Technology (DST) launched the ‘North East Accelerator Program’.
Ennovent, a global innovation company which focuses on sustainability , STPI (Software Techparks of India), the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Government of India have partnered with IIMCIP to execute the acceleration program.
The initiative has been counted among the first of its kind in the North East region, acting as a platform for budding entrepreneurs and innovators from the North East, all the while facilitating the creation of successful ventures through implementation of various processes being mentoring, providing visibility, networking support, capacity building and access to funding opportunities. The accelerator program is a unique initiative which is expected to bring together the key stakeholders in the North Eastern entrepreneurial ecosystem comprising of start ups, investors, mentors and subject matter experts. The selected entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to participate in boot camp and shall be closely mentored by the panel of experts from IIMCIP on various aspects of business along with opportunities to connect to potential customer segments and investors.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Subhrangshu Sanyal (CEO, IIMCIP) said and we quote “Though the North-Eastern States of India have huge potential being– human, natural and economic, it is also true that this large resource remains largely unexplored. Away to unlock this potential would be to unleash the creative energy of current and emerging entrepreneurs from the region. This in turn will have multiple benefits like creating more employment opportunities, reducing or reversing migration of local youth, expansion of the local business ecosystem all the while helping facilitate the socio-economic development of the region”.
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park is hosting Startup Weekend 3.0 at IIM Calcutta Campus from 5-7 August 2016.
The 6 day entrepreneurship development programme – Nurture 2016 started on 31st May 2016 with 23 participants attending this programme from various parts of the country.
The programme included practical tools and techniques to generate innovative product ideas; validate ideas and manage product development process leading to a minimum viable product.The participants had hands-on, practical experience in developing a business plan, preparing a financial model and pitching their ideas live in front of investors and mentors from the startup ecosystem.
The participants were given exposure to the different facets of entrepreneurship – Basics of Entrepreneurship, Design Thinking & Product Development Process, Session on Intellectual Property, Branding & Promotion, Digital Marketing, Financial Projections and preparing a Financial Model, Presentation Skills and sessions on How to make an Investor’s Pitch.
On the last day some successful entrepreneurs were invited to speak about their experiences in setting up and running a business and the challenges faced by them. This motivated the participants and inspired them to kick start their entrepreneurship journey.
IIM Calcutta witnessed its first ever Jokathon on 21st and 22nd of November. Joka’s very own Entrepreneurship Cell hosted this event and it provided fellow Jokars with an opportunity to give a slight nudge to their big crazy dreams and emerge as full-fledged business plans. Jokathon was conducted on the lines of a hackathon where teams gathered together for 48 hours, brainstormed and transformed a business idea into a well-structured business plan worth presenting in front of investors. Those without any idea but a dream to start-up an organization were welcome to join teams of their liking.
At first teams needed to give a 1-minute pitch showing the crowd the heart of their ideas. The 20 brilliant ideas sure ran a chill down everyone’s spine, as if it was the beginning of a revolution. The teams were then required to present their ideas on a chart paper, basically the coolest ways in which they could showcase their ideas. This phase saw an informal union of people from various backgrounds all working under the same roof. The room was full of breathtaking designs, which were to undergo a round of voting from all present there. This phase was to form 15% of the final score. After all the rush yummy “Wow Momos” & cakes from “Jab We Ate” came to the rescue. The storms of voting passed and then came the mentors, Mr. Mohnessh, Mr. Sanjay Chatterjeee, Mr Subhrangshu Sanyal and Professor Devi Vijay. Whatever doubts the teams had were to be resolved that day, whatever assistance they needed to move forward was to be provided that day. Now the teams were required to form a Business Model Canvas to structure their ideas further. This was 35% of the final score and the deliverable for day 1.
Day 2 was the finale where teams were to present their ideas to our jury panelists Kaushik Poddar, Sanjay Chaterjee and Joka’s very own beloved Professors Devi Vijay and C D Mitra. They started off with a briefing on what is required in the presentations and since it was a crisp 15 minutes presentation and 5 minutes Q&A session, mentors were available throughout to help the teams find their path to glory.
22nd November saw the Joka spirit in its full form with a session of awe-inspiring presentations. Everyone emerged as a winner but protocol told us to rank, hence we ranked. Agrodrivers emerged as the Jokathon winners with Warriors as the 1st runner-up and Paushtik as the 2nd runner-up.
Well, rank is just a number in the end of these 2 brain-churning days, if the entrepreneurial light was ignited even in a few hearts, Jokathon can pat its back and rest for a year.
