The ASEAN-India Start-up Festival 2022 is beginning next month! And this time, the Start-up Incubation & Innovation Centre (SIIC) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has been selected as the lead coordinator from India for this festival.
SIIC is the technology-business incubator at the institute. According to an official release, as the lead coordinator from India, SIIC IIT Kanpur is inviting start-ups across India to be a part of this festival. A total of 30 Indian start-ups will be shortlisted to join the delegation to represent India at this forum, as reported by IANS.
The festival is being organised in Indonesia from October 27-30 to mark the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Partnership. The event aims to celebrate and strengthen the cooperation and collaboration between the ASEAN-India Partnership in the area of Science and Technology.
The programme is supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST). And it is being organised in conjunction with the Indonesia Research and Innovation Expo (INA-RIE) by the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia.
Expressing himself over the news, Professor Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, "India is emerging as a global leader in the start-up and innovation landscape. I am proud that IIT Kanpur's incubation ecosystem is able to share its learning of two decades, not only with new incubators from India but also from ASEAN nations."
"Strong cooperation in the field of science and technology among India and ASEAN nations is the need of the 21st century," the professor stated. He added that the festival would open up multiple avenues for collaborative growth in research and innovation among the participating nations, as per IANS.
Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, said, "The start-up ecosystem at IIT Kanpur has been in action for two decades. Serving as a coordinating organisation for the ASEAN Start-up Festival is an amazing opportunity for us and our incubated start-ups to establish international business and investor connections."
The ASEAN-India start-up festival offers Indian start-ups with opportunities to connect with businesses and investors from the international arena and further strengthen cross-border ties with the ASEAN countries. The shortlisted start-ups would also get a chance to participate in the 'Pitch Battle' being organised at the event and win a cash prize of up to $7,500.
It may be noted that IIT Kanpur has already started the application process to participate. "The call for applications for startups is open till 12th September 2022. The startups will be shortlisted based on a 2-round evaluation process, and the final list shall be published on the program website," states the official IIT Kanpur website. Interested people can visit the website iitk.ac.in/new/asean-india-startup-festival for details.
