Ahmedabad Next Stop On MeitY Startup Hub’s Journey To Provide Funding Opportunities To Startups

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Startup Hub (MSH) is organising the ‘MSH Investor Connect Programme’ on 22 March in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to connect early stage startups with investors and provide funding and scaling opportunities. Powered by Inc42 and supported by IIM Ahmedabad’s entrepreneurship centre, IIMA Ventures, the programme will also help MeitY’s incubation centres build robust investor networks.

The event in Ahmedabad is part of MSH’s plan to hold such programmes across the country to connect startups with investors and mentors. Earlier, at the Investor Connect Programme held in Jaipur as part of this series, over 10 promising startups pitched their ideas to a panel of investors, sought feedback and received significant interest from them. 

The Ahmedabad programme will host several investors, including IAN Alpha Fund vice president and principal Sanat Mondal; Unicorn India Ventures founder and managing partner Anil Joshi, Kettleborough VC managing partner Nisarg Shah; Seafund cofounder and managing partner Manoj Kumar Agarwal; Ankur Dubey, principal, Capria Ventures; Kapil Kotnala, VP, Investments, Mumbai Angels; Dr Sunil R Parekh, Founding Curator AGS, World Economic Forum & Veteran Startup Ecosystem and Rishiraj Kalita, AVP at Huddle Ventures

Gujarat – An Emerging Startup Hub

Gujarat emerged as a ‘Best Performer’ in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s (DPIIT’s) state-wise ranking for the startup ecosystem four times in a row, starting from 2018. 

Over the years, the Gujarat government has taken a number of initiatives, including launching a Startup Policy, to promote startups in the state. The Startup Policy, launched in 2016 with an aim to create a vibrant startup culture, aims to materialise ideas into products, provide mentorship to entrepreneurs, and facilitate incubation support to startups. 

As a result of these efforts, Gujarat is currently home to over 8,000 registered startups.

The IIMA Ventures has also played a pivotal role in the growth of startups in Gujarat. Founded in 2002 as an entrepreneurship centre at IIM Ahmedabad, it incubates, accelerates, and invests in early stage startups.

IIMA Ventures is also recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Indian government’s Department of Science and Technology and is supported by MeitY under the TIDE 2.0 (Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs) — a scheme to promote entrepreneurship. 

IIMA Ventures has mentored around 7,000 founders, accelerated approximately 1,500 startups, provided catalytic capital to over 700 companies, and inspired over a million people with its 400+ publications. It has been a pioneer on multiple fronts, including India’s first accelerator – iAccelerator, India’s largest idea scouting competition – The Power of Ideas, India’s first climate fund – INFUSE Ventures, India’s biggest platform for inclusive fintechs – Bharat Inclusion Initiative, and India’s first entrepreneurship bestseller – Stay Hungry Stay Foolish.