IEP Chandigarh, June 13
Asserting to establish industry is important for a country’s progress as it augments economic and employment growth, Punjab Investment Promotion Minister Anmol Gagan Maan on Tuesday invited young entrepreneurs from Punjab to come forward with their unique business ideas.
During a function organised by Innovation Mission Punjab during its flagship Accelerator Program’s Demo day, the Minister said the State has started Innovation Mission Punjab as a public-private partnership to boost the startup ecosystem in Punjab, leading to the state’s overall economic growth and social development. It, in turn, will open avenues for employment, which has a direct impact on the levels of migration.” Speaking about the program, she informed that the IMPunjab works towards discovering, mentoring, and scaling startups by eventually making them investment ready.
Commenting on the event, Mr. Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, IMPunjab said that the Mission envisions creating a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Punjab. Punjab has great entrepreneurial talent and has unique strengths in tourism, food, music, art, agriculture, healthcare etc. Through IMPunjab we’ve brought together the best global investors and business leaders to mentor the entrepreneurial talent in the State. We have been able to support the early-stage startups through the Accelerator and Pollinator programs by enabling them to utilize their best potential, to drive growth and leverage the ecosystem in the state.
Innovation Mission Punjab concluded its second Accelerator Program with its Spring Cohort 2023 consisting of 50% women founders and about a third of them migrating to Punjab spread across various sectors such as Health & Wellness, Consumer Technology, Deep Tech, & FinTech. The second cohort comes on the back of the success of the first program, launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, where approximately 50% of the Cohort raised ~5Cr cumulatively.
The Minister congratulated the Mission on its focus to encourage entrepreneurs. She also interacted with the startups, encouraging them to continue building their companies with grit and determination.
On this occasion, an insightful brainstorming session was held between Kanwalijit Singh from Fireside Ventures and Chairman of IMPunjab Pramod Bhasin on building successful D2C brands in India. Mr. Kanwaljit Singh congratulated the Mission on its excellent work in providing mentorship, a cornerstone to building successful startups.
The Mission’s Board and Advisors include Saurabh Srivastava, widely acknowledged as an architect of the Indian IT Industry, noted economist and author Ajay Shah, D.S. Brar, Promoter-Chairman, GVK Bio, and award-winning film producer Bobby Bedi. The Mission also has Kawaljit Singh, Fireside Ventures, Naina Lal Kidwai, Rajan Anandan, Ido Arahoni, architect of Brand Israel.
