Sarma said that India’s start-up ecosystem is creating waves in the world. The nation’s start-ups are constantly improving and growing, adapting to new situations with changing times. Therefore, he said, “Through this event, I congratulate all the start-ups and the innovative youth who are leading India’s successful journey in this very promising and ever increasing field”
He also said that recently in a major success, in the States’ Startup Ranking 2021, Assam Startup has been recognized as a Leader (Category A) in developing a strong startup ecosystem in the state by Government of India. This has been a steep progression from its previous recognition of being an Emerging Startup Ecosystem. The state has further been acknowledged as a Mentorship Champion for building a large mentorship network for startups. It is indeed an encouraging achievement for the youths of Assam to take up entrepreneurship in a much larger scale, the Chief Minister added.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose encouragement in the field of entrepreneurship, gives Assam a significant push to its efforts to start up initiatives, Sarma said that taking cue from the Government of India’s vision, Assam government has also taken concerted steps to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and convert job-seekers into job-creators and to transform Assam into a major Start-up hub of the country.
Sarma also said that the success of the Start-up initiative in the state is evident from the fact that Zerund, which has been included in the Start-ups in Gruhas ASPIRE’s first cohort has been nurtured by “Assam Startup – The Nest”. The success of the entrepreneurs of the State is a strong testimony of their innovative ideas that have immense potential to position Assam more visibly in global market.
Sarma also said that the growth of Assam’s start-up has been facilitated by B-School Incubator IIM Calcutta Innovation Park which has been associated with the state’s Start up initiative as a Knowledge Partner. He also said that the Nest has, so far, carried out 74 outreach events, reaching out to over 15,000 students, young innovators, and aspiring startups across every district of Assam. Initiating the Hub and Spoke model, Assam Startup – The Nest (Hub) has, so far, signed 43 collaboration memoranda with top universities and colleges, the Chief Minister added.
Sarma said that for helping the start-ups with financial aid, Government of Assam has introduced My Assam Startup ID (MASI). Start-ups found eligible for MASI can apply for grants up to Rs. 50 lakhs for scaling up their business. 292 applications have been evaluated out of the 368 applications received and 125 startups have been granted. He also said that in a significant development to push forward start-up ecosystem in the state, the Government of Assam is going to enter in to an MoU with SIDBI for establishing a Venture Capital assistance of Rs 200 Crore for Assam specific Start-ups. The Chief Minister also said that the speed and scale at which India’s start-ups are marching ahead is a testament to the innovative aptitude, strong will and determination of the youth to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
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