Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann, on Monday introduced the first cohort of IMPunjab’s (Innovation Mission Punjab) accelerator programme comprising 16 Punjab-based startups.
The programme will provide mentor support, piloting opportunities, capacity-building programmes, capital, investor interaction and business services to support early-stage startups.
The accelerator will also provide startups with Rs 3 lakh as experimental capital to validate business models. Located in Kalkat Bhavan, it has a hub with 12,000 sq ft of workspace and offers a 400-seater auditorium along with activity zones and meeting rooms.
“This year we are planning 2 accelerator programs of 15-16 startups each, apart from all the other engagements being done at a mass level. Being a unique PPP, we are working to build a vibrant and thriving ecosystem for startups in the entrepreneurial state. The mix of startups we have onboarded is representative of the core strengths of the State. Approximately, 30% of these are led by women, going forward, we will encourage more women to become entrepreneurs in the state,” Pramod Bhasin, chairman at IMPunjab said in an interaction.
The startups selected in the first cohort hail from various hubs in Punjab including regions like Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda, and have a varied sectorial representation from healthcare, edtech, agritech, cleantech, fintech and logistics.
The startups selected include organic ayurvedic brand solutions company AddVeda; rural logistics company Countryside Express; business-to-business platform Scratchnest and software company Terafac Technologies, among others.
“We have tied up with funds and institutional investors like MarsShot, Speciale and CIIE.CO to invest in the startups' post-programme. The pitch day is planned for the 2nd week of December. Apart from that, we are also receiving interest from other funds and investors to attend the demo day and we will be inviting angels like IAN and CAN, funds like antler and pi, and institutions like IIML and ISB, Bhasin said.
He added, “We are creating a large pool of mentors like DS Brar (ex-CEO at Ranbaxy), Naina Lal Kidwai (CA and Country Head at HSBC India), Saurabh Srivastava (Nasscom, IAN, IVCA), Manoj Kohli (Country Head– Soft Bank), Bobby Bedi (acclaimed Filmmaker), Amit Chandra (BIN Capital), Rajan Anandan (Sequoia Capital).”
