Bengal trade body hosts a pitch event for startup funding
- ByStartupStory | January 27, 2023
A fundraising pitch event was held on Thursday by the Confederation of West Bengal Trade Association (CWBTA) at the Bengal Global Trade Expo for 97 entrepreneurs proposing solutions to diverse sectors. The event was attended by approximately 100 investors.
The event was planned in collaboration with business incubator and accelerator Freeflow and knowledge partner PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
In order to promote self-reliance in India, a unique activity of Pitch Battle among nearly 100 startups started today. In the activity, the startups will pitch their ideas and display the products to secure funding and partnerships,” CWBTA president Sushil Poddar told PTI.
“In the three-day event beginning today, it will bring together over 100 plus investment organisations, angel investors, and fund houses, providing a platform for select startups and 20 traditional businesses,” he said.
These firms are looking for financing in the amount of $30,000 to $5,000,000. West Bengal’s premier trade organisation declared that they are aiming to empower small businesses through digitization.
“India SME Forum (ISF) — a non-profit, non-governmental association is hosting a first-of-its-kind largest digitisation drive for potential 90 lakh retailers and sellers and MSME units in West Bengal. They have entered an MoU with CWBTA in this regard,” Poddar said.
This initiative, in collaboration with Forum for Internet Retailers, Sellers, and Traders (FIRST), is aimed at creating awareness and supporting small businesses from across India on the opportunities that will help them go digital and become self-reliant, he said.
“We are looking to have a healthy representation of our MSMEs from West Bengal in FIRST, which can help solve challenges being faced by them in the region. We believe solving the challenges of MSMEs in the state will help them leverage the state’s USD 7 billion e-commerce opportunity,” said India SME Forum President Vinod Kumar.
Meanwhile, Firhad Hakim, the mayor of Kolkata and the state’s minister for urban development, remarked during the Bengal Global Trade Expo 2023’s opening ceremony: “The MSMEs in the state have created 1.36 crore jobs and the state offers land at 200 industrial parks for new projects. The state is emerging as a major logistics hub.”
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