India-Nepal Startup Network Celebrates First Cohort at IIT Madras Ceremony

According to a release from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the ceremony was held today at IIT Madras in Chennai, with Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), Ministry of External Affairs, as the Chief Guest.

The IN-SPAN featured an eight-week, fully funded training and innovation program at IIT Madras, delivered in collaboration with the IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation. IIT Madras Pravartak has incubated 46 startups, out of which 14 have successfully commercialised their technologies.

Speaking at the ceremony, Munu Mahawar thanked the IIT Madras ecosystem for hosting the first cohort and congratulated the participants, noting that this initiative would take forward India-Nepal startup collaboration.

Yunika Bajracharya, Founder of Edavor and Asim Shrestha, Founder of Edtraa, shared feedback on behalf of the cohort. They said the program exceeded their expectations and proposed institutionalising the learnings by establishing an IIT Madras Pravartak Centre of Excellence in Nepal.

Prof Mangala Sundar, Professor Emeritus, IIT Madras, Prof Gaurav Raina, Professor, IIT Madras, Lt. Gen (Retd.) Karanbir Singh Brar, Distinguished Strategic Advisor at IITM Pravartak; Rajendra Mootha, Head (New Initiatives) at IIT Madras Pravartak; and Srikanth Valuthur, Lead, IN-SPAN programme at IITM Pravartak, also shared their thoughts on the programme.

"The 24 participants of IN-SPAN were selected through a competitive process out of around 250 applications from all over Nepal. The first cohort was selected based on written applications, candidate presentations, and an interview conducted by the selection committee led by IIT Madras Pravartak. The participants of the first cohort were drawn from a diverse range of sectors, including cybersecurity, e-commerce, content creation platforms, AI, quick commerce, edtech, healthcare, drone technology, cleantech, agritech, legal tech, climate tech, aerospace and fintech," the release from the embassy stated.

Further adding, "The program was undertaken in three stages at IIT Madras Pravartak. During the first 4 weeks, participants attended lectures and workshops led by leading faculty members at IIT Madras and startup practitioners. They also engaged with 25 CxOs of Indian startups to gather real-world feedback and experience. Thereafter, for 2 weeks, they focused on skill development in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors and solar photovoltaic. The last 2 weeks provided an opportunity for them to hone their skills by interning at relevant startups in India."

The release further stated that, due to the program's comprehensive nature and engagement with successful startups, many cohort participants from Nepal forged business collaborations with Indian startups.

Nine startups from Nepal received incubation and investment offers from IIT Madras Incubation Cell and IIT Madras Pravartak. The IIT Madras Incubation Cell is one of India's flagship deeptech incubators, with the combined valuation of its portfolio companies exceeding USD 6 billion. We congratulate the startups selected to join this accomplished group.

While IN-SPAN was originally envisioned to be conducted annually, the next cohort will be launched in the coming months due to strong interest from the Nepali startup community.

- ANI