Arunachal's start-up incubator to scale up, CM announces expansion
Arunachal Pradesh is set to expand its Innovation and Investment Park to accommodate more start-ups, increasing annual intake beyond the current 50. The Entrepreneurship Development Program will also be widened to create more opportunities for local entrepreneurs. The state has supported 106 start-ups with over Rs 4.5 crore in seed funding, with 38% being women-led.
IANS Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday announced that the Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park (APIIP) will expand its premises to accommodate more start-ups, increasing the annual intake from the current 50. He also said the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Program (APEDP) will be widened to create more opportunities for local entrepreneurs. APIIP, set up in August 2020 under the Department of Planning, Investment & Finance, functions as the state's key start-up incubator. It conducts annual challenges to identify business ideas and provides selected entrepreneurs with seed funding, incubation, and pre-incubation programmes for up to nine months. 'In just four years, we have supported 106 start-ups across three cohorts, providing more than Rs 4.5 crore in seed funding, with an inspiring 38% of them being women-led enterprises. These start-ups represent the true diversity of Arunachal Pradesh – agriculture, handicrafts, IT, e-commerce, and tourism,' Khandu said.
He highlighted APIIP's adoption of Artificial Intelligence for screening start-up applications this year, making Arunachal the first state in India to do so. Fifty ventures were shortlisted under this process. However, Khandu stressed that limiting the number to 50 was inadequate and assured state support to either expand the current premises or set up a new facility. During the event, Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein distributed graduation certificates to Cohort 3.0 and prize money to Cohort 4.0 entrepreneurs. APIIP also signed MoUs with seven higher education institutions to launch mentorship programmes. These institutions will establish start-up cells to nurture student ideas.
The partner institutions include Arunachal Pradesh University (Pasighat), Arunachal University of Studies (Namsai), Dorjee Khandu Government College (Tawang), Dera Natung Government College (Itanagar), NERIST (Nirjuli), NIT (Jote), and Rajiv Gandhi University (Doimukh). Khandu credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Startup India' mission as the inspiration behind these initiatives. 'His (Modi's) Startup India mission has transformed India's entrepreneurial landscape – from garages to global IPOs, from small towns to big tech hubs. In Arunachal Pradesh, every road built, every enterprise supported, every dream encouraged, is a step towards Viksit Arunachal,' he said. To strengthen youth participation, the Chief Minister announced the launch of YES Arunachal – Youth Empowerment Sphere, a platform bringing together government schemes for aspiring entrepreneurs. He also suggested upgrading the Investment Cell in the Planning, Investment & Finance Department into a directorate to enable more independent support for start-ups. The event was attended by cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats, representatives from Start-Up India, and mentors from IIT Delhi and IIM Shillong.
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