With its first Startup cohort, IMPunjab launches its three-month Accelerator Program

• ByStartupStory     |    September 28, 2022

Innovation Mission Punjab launched its accelerator programme with 16 startups that are at the revenue and product-ready stage today at their office location at KalkatBhavan in the city. Innovation Mission Punjab is a unique private-public partnership that aims to build, empower, and act as a catalyst for startup communities in Punjab. A panel of specialists from a variety of industries, including agriculture, education, technology, retail, FMCG, etc., guided the early-stage companies through the session while analysing the viability of their ventures and appropriate finance models.

The IMPunjab Accelerator, which was officially opened by the Hon. Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri Bhagwant Mann, will support early-stage startups with a three-month structured mentorship programme, piloting opportunities, capacity-building programmes, catalytic capital, investor interaction, and business services. The program’s goal is to support businesses as they expand and create a solid foundation.

The IMPunjab Accelerator is a specific initiative to drive the growth of the startup ecosystem in Punjab as a whole, according to Somveer Anand, CEO and Mission Director of IMPunjab, who was speaking about the networking cohort programme. We plan to support a batch of 16 early-stage entrepreneurs in building scalable models, achieving a market fit, and becoming finance ready. Experienced and prosperous members of the startup ecosystem will coach the startups through in-person meetings and online mentoring sessions. By the end of this programme, we hope to have these firms funded and prepared for growth.

Both in-person and online meetings will make sure that work plans are created for the startups for the month and take into account the lessons learned from diagnostic panels and clinics. During their accelerator programme, every cohort of businesses will receive an experimental capital of INR 3 Lakh to test their business and financial models. Through the lens of scalability, the entrepreneurs will be able to comprehend the numerous tasks necessary to work on a company, such as marketing, finance, sales, revenues, operation, partners, and resources. Once the firm has its financials in order and its five-year plans, it will become investable.

The Mission had a fantastic lineup of experts from the startup ecosystem with the startups as part of its first contact session, including JS Vali from IIM-A, Divyaroop Bhatnagar, MD of YFactor Marketing, Abhay Singhal, Founder of TickTalkTo, Saurabh Chandra Rai, Business Development Manager, HomeBiogas, Sumit Karranji, Founder of Curlin. Official, Utkarsh Joshi, Senior Vice President to help the entrepreneurs in making successful business strategies.

At the end of the Accelerator programme, the startups will present their ideas to investors during Demo Day. With the identification of clear asks, roadmaps, post-funding costing, scaling and business growth, as well as a dedicated demo day to interact with venture funds, institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals with a clear objective to raise funds, startups will be able to seek investor readiness.

About IMPunjab:

Some of the biggest names in the commercial sector have funded IMPunjab, and the Punjab government has also been quite supportive. Pramod Bhasin, the founder of Genpact, Clix Capital, and Asha Impact, serves as the mission’s chairman. Eminent figures on the Board of Directors include Bobby Bedi, a winning film director, famous economist and novelist Ajay Shah, promoter-chairman of GVK Bio D.S. Brar, and Saurabh Srivastava, widely regarded as the father of the Indian IT industry. Along with other corporate executives, the Mission’s advisory board includes NainaLalKidwai, Manoj Kohli, Rajan Anandan, and Ido Arahoni, the creator of Brand Israel.

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