Uttar Pradesh (UP) is set to display its might in the startup ecosystem with as many as 11 startups from the state slated to present their innovative business ideas to global investors at the fourth session of the ‘Elevate’ pitching series on 14th December. The popular pitching series is a key initiative of the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai that aims to display unconventional solutions created by 500 Indian startups over the course of five months under the Innovation Hub bus stationed outside the India Pavilion.
The startups from Uttar Pradesh will showcase their capabilities and present innovative ideas in sectors such as health & wellness, sustainability, agriculture, IT, technology, education, industries and many more. As per the Government of India data, Uttar Pradesh has over 5300 startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) out of which over 2600 are women-led.
Some of the startups from UP to participate in Elevate-IV include Life and Limb Pvt. Ltd that provides solution to people with upper limb amputation; Phool, a social enterprise that has pioneered the ‘flowercycling’ technology to reduce pollution in rivers by up-cycling flower temple-waste in India; Atma Nirbhar, a social venture that trains women to ride motorized scooters with the goal of increasing female labour force participation; Farmers Family, providing healthy and quality farm produce directly from farms to consumers and Truck Suvidha, that provides digital infrastructure for the truck industry.
Other startups from UP to be present are Edu Gorilla, AIPL Infrastructure, E-Spin Nanotech, Vymanik Aerospace, Constems AI and Tech Eagle while SOQO, makers of reusable leak-proof underwear for women which they can wear on their periods, is from Madhya Pradesh and Vizara Technologies is from Delhi NCR.
With the introduction of the new ‘Startup Policy 2020’, Uttar Pradesh is aiming to inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship at school level itself to make students learn virtues of entrepreneurship during early years of their education.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has established INR 1000 crore Startup Fund for providing finance to startups. This fund is available in the form of fund of funds wherein the state government will not invest directly into the startups, but rather it will make investment in ‘Daughter Funds’, which would ultimately invest in startups promoting innovative ideas across all sectors in Uttar Pradesh.
India is amongst the top 3 creators of unicorns in the world. Amidst the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, 35 new unicorns have come into existence in India, taking the total number of unicorns to 72. The Indian startup ecosystem currently has over 57,000 startups from 628 districts across all 28 states and eight Union Territories, registered with the DPIIT and it is expanding even further.
Elevate platform provides startups the opportunity to gain knowledge about the global sectoral trends, best practices followed around the world, and get mentoring from sector experts and a networking window to interact with new-age entrepreneurs, innovators and investors.
The first Elevate session saw 10 startups across sectors from the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, pitching their ideas to over 15 investors, while the second session had 13 startups from Telangana presenting their ideas. The third session showcased 10 startups from Karnataka, Kerala and the UAE.
The next Elevate will happen on December 22nd. To participate in the India Innovation Hub series, please visit:https://form.jotform.com/213232304501033
