Odisha Aims To Be The Leading Start-Up And Incubator Hub In The Country

Make in Odisha Conclave 2022’, one of the largest investment summits in the country, today began with a plenary session with CXOs and industry leaders. The first day of the conclave witnessed a thematic session hosted by Startup Odisha with the theme ‘Startups’ Paradigm Shift and the road ahead’ that showcased Odisha’s growing startup ecosystem, trends and emerging opportunities in the start-up world. The session touched upon the entrepreneurial culture, economic and business transformation and building of a sustainable and scalable start-up ecosystem. The thematic session was conducted in the presence of Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, Government of Odisha, and Shri. Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, MSME Department, Government of Odisha. Veteran Industry leader Padma Bhushan Shri. Ajai Choudhary, Co-Founder, HCL Technologies and Chairman of taskforce for Electronics – MEITY, Chairman of FICCI Startup Committee was the chief guest of the thematic session. Ms. Nivruti Rai, Country Head, INTEL INDIA graced the inaugural session with her presence as Guest of Honor.

Speaking about the growing start-up ecosystem in the State, Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, Government of Odisha said, “Make in Odisha Conclave 2022 is the perfect platform for start-ups to interact with investors, mentors and leaders with Startup Odisha playing the role of an enabler, having set up 25 active incubators and supported 1434 start-ups since 2016 of which, 590 start-ups are led by women. We intend to give additional thrust to the startup ecosystem by granting better incentives to prospective entrepreneurs. A Fund-of-Funds scheme has been promulgated by Startup Odisha under which AIFs of national and global repute participated, thereby provisioning an investment of ?950 Crores into state-based Startups. AWE Fund, IAN – Alpha Fund, Gujarat Venture Finance Limited, Unicorn India Ventures, Trillium Venture Capital, SEA Fund and PONTAQ Venture Capital are the participants of this scheme for mobilizing the provisioned investment”.

The valedictory session of the thematic session witnessed the felicitation of Unicorn Founders by Shri. Pratap Keshari Deb, Minister for MSME, and the launch of an impact report and a coffee table book. A total of 5 MoUs and 7 Letters of Intent were signed during the conclave. Startup Yatra Awards were also distributed at the event. The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Debashish Patnaik, President TiE Bhubaneshwar.