IIMA’s CIIE.CO Partners Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) To Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023 Supporting Financial Solutions for Women-owned MSMEs

Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023

The initiative Swanari Techsprint aims to support SMEs/MSMEs building gender transformative financial solutions, and making a positive impact on the financial inclusion landscape

IIMA’s CIIE.CO has joined hands with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to launch Swanari Techsprint 2023 - an initiative of RBIH - focuses on advancing ‘End to End Digital Straight Through Process (STP) Lending Solutions for Micro to Medium-sized Women-owned Enterprises’, empowering them to access the financial resources they need to flourish. This edition of Swanari Techsprint will aim to address the large credit gap faced by women owned MSMEs.

The Swanari Techsprint 2023 winners will have an opportunity to do a paid Proof of Concept (POC) with one of India’s leading financial institutions HDFC Bank, and pitch for fast track pre-seed investment at CIIE.CO. Selected startups will also gain access to CIIE.CO's extensive mentoring and networking opportunities, providing them with a strong foundation for growth and success.

Commenting on the partnership, Supriya Sharma from CIIE.CO expressed, "Swanari Techsprint 2023 aligns with our focus on financial inclusion, especially women’s financial inclusion. Women entrepreneurs own and lead less than 20% of the MSMEs in India. Among several other factors, access to capital is a huge barrier for women looking to set up and grow their businesses. We are thrilled to collaborate with RBIH to help address this massive need. We are sure that this will go a long way in supporting early stage startups that are committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs."

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub recognises the significance of ensuring women's financial inclusion as a driving force behind economic growth. RBIH's Swanari Program taps into technology and innovation to enable 'Frictionless Finance for Every Woman in India.' RBIH works closely with the ecosystem through its various programs to help build solutions to specific problem statements. The current edition of TechSprint focuses on narrowing the gender gap by fostering innovative digital STP lending solutions tailored for women entrepreneurs. By extending chosen startups the opportunity to tap into its extensive resources and networks, RBIH aspires to drive impactful change in the financial ecosystem.

Applications for Swanari Techsprint 2023 are now open, and interested startups are invited to apply by 11th September 2023. More about this initiative here.

Built at IIM Ahmedabad, CIIE.CO is the country’s leading entrepreneurship centre and early stage technology investing platform. CIIE.CO backs fearless entrepreneurs building disruptive solutions and stands with the startups at their risky early stages, when they need most support while there is hardly any available. Through the continuum of incubation, acceleration, capital and insights – CIIE.CO offers everything it takes for these driven entrepreneurs to make a superlative impact. CIIE.CO is a Centre of Excellence backed by the Government of India’s DST. Over the last 20 years, CIIE.CO has made equity investments in more than 350 startups, accelerated over 1500 and mentored over 5000 startups over the last 20 years.

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – is an organisation that enables frictionless finance to a billion Indians. RBIH functions as a focal platform, bringing together members of financial, technological and academic institutions, to promote and accelerate innovation across the financial sector. With a robust ecosystem that enables the exchange of ideas, research and development of prototypes, RBIH aims to not only strengthen the Indian financial system but also keep India at the forefront of global financial innovation.

To Promote DeepTech and Science-led Startups SIDBI Setting Up ₹20 Cr Accelerator Fund with CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad

SIDBI, the principal financial institution for MSMEs in India, will set up a SIDBI Accelerator Fund at CIIE, a startup incubator established by IIM Ahmedabad, with an initial corpus of Rs 20 crore.

SIDBI is partnering IIM Ahmedabad as part of its new initiative "India of Tomorrow" under which it collaborates with different incubators in the country to promote deep technologies and science-led innovation by enabling seed funding to startups in exchange for equity.

The programme focuses on supporting startups with meritorious ideas and technologies important for India’s goals for 2047 to become self-reliant as well as a dominant player in high quality/ high entry barrier products/services.

The partnership would facilitate institutional seed investment in early stage viable and scalable ventures in future.

Sectors aimed to be supported include deep tech, hardware/ product startups, energy, clean tech, pharmaceuticals, biotech, defence innovations, rural, social and industrial technologies, high quality components, chips and other R&D driven startups.

During the program, six start-ups made a presentation on their ideas, methodology and the likely amount of seed capital required for scaling up their operations.

 

India’s First Legal Tech Report Launched by CIIE.CO, IIM Ahmedabad’s Entrepreneurship Platform

India’s legal services market stands at USD 1.3 billion - less than 1% of the US legal services market

India has more than 650 plus legal tech startups - the second highest in the world, highlights the CIIE.CO report

The report details the current legal tech landscape, investments, new opportunities and gaps for entrepreneurs

CIIE.CO at IIM Ahmedabad, has recently published India’s first comprehensive report on the legal tech startup ecosystem titled - “Beyond the bench: Promise of Indian legal tech startups”. The report highlights that while the legal services market in India is a small fraction of the much evolved USA market, India ranks second in the world in terms of the number of startups. With insights and opinions from founders, investors, lawyers and law firms, enablers, stakeholders, and subject matter experts, the report outlines the current landscape and highlights promising opportunities in the Indian legal tech sector.

Originally conceptualised as part of the Citizen Innovation Lab (CIL), an initiative by CIIE.CO & Omidyar Network India, the report captures product categories designed for different customer groups and stakeholders. It elaborates the six emerging product opportunities that are ripe for scalable interventions that are Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Succession Management, Litigation Finance, Court Management, Due Diligence Management and Legal Transcription and Translation Service.

It also dives into digital technologies being leveraged and presents case studies of promising legal tech startups in India. However, despite increasing digitalisation, the vernacular nature of lower court proceedings limits the application of AI which can potentially reduce the burden on the system.

Speaking on the report, Supriya Sharma, Partner - Insights, CIIE.CO said, “Indians spend about 0.48% of GDP on litigation. Entrepreneurial drive aided by cutting edge technology can potentially tackle the inefficiencies found across the legal services landscape. While the sector is in its nascent stages, it is seeing strong tailwinds like the increasing digitalisation of court proceedings. I hope that this report aids the founders and investors aiming to build the legal tech market in India and the world.”

The report recognises the legal tech sector to be a promising bed of opportunities for investors too; the sector is seeing an increasing trend in growth stage funding. The report also enlists some critical ecosystem gaps which, if filled, will unlock the full potential of the legal tech market in India.

With over 650 startups and more than USD 55 million invested, legal tech as a sector may be at the cusp of expansion. Read here: go.ciie.co/legaltech

About CIIE.CO

CIIE.CO is the Innovation Continuum spreading from incubation, acceleration, seed, and growth funding to research. Founded at IIM Ahmedabad in 2002, CIIE.CO has since grown and pivoted to fill the multiple, ever-evolving gaps in the innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. Among its various initiatives, CIIE.CO has conceptualized and hosted India’s first and only CleanTech-focused fund, accelerated over 1000 startups, funded over 500 startups, inspired over a million with our publication - Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish and Startup Compass.

Research at CIIE.CO delivers sector intelligence into emerging areas like deep tech, climate tech and inclusion tech, learning tools, and academic investigations into pressing questions around building startups and their ecosystems. CIIE.CO publishes sharp, data driven insights and resources for founders, policy makers, incubators and investors in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

Know more at www.insights.ciie.co

IIMA and PwC India Join Hands to Establish PwC ESG Research and Innovation Forum at IIMA

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), a premier global management Institute, in collaboration with PwC India, announced the establishment of the ‘PwC ESG Research and Innovation Forum’ today. This ESG Forum has been set up for an initial period of five years, facilitated by the efforts of IIMA Endowment Fund (IIMAEF).

PwC ESG Forum at IIMA is envisaged to be an avenue for knowledge sharing and exchange among the ESG stakeholders; driven by a marquee event or series of events that the Forum will host at IIMA. This initiative comes as a step towards contributing to India's commitment to the net zero agenda and upcoming BRSR regulations by widening and deepening the sustainability impact in the Indian industry.

Emphasizing the need for more ESG focused collaborations and conversations, Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA said, "ESG has become a mainstay in every boardroom discussion and is being looked at as a quality standard that determines capital allocation, investor valuation, capacity building and the overall sustainability quotient of the company. Although ESG incorporation in India is in a nascent stage, the room for growth is tremendous. This scenario makes the need for a forum – a common platform for stakeholders across the spectrum – compelling. We are happy to partner with PwC to launch this Forum and are confident that it will provide the much-needed action space for academia, industry, think tanks and policymakers to come together, deliberate on best practices and devise a roadmap that is aligned with ESG goals, globally.”

Supported by a high calibre faculty pool and strong research credentials, IIMA has been at the forefront of leading initiatives that have the potential to educate and influence scholarship, practice, and policy. The understanding and need for ESG discussions have moved beyond just ‘purpose’ or CSR for companies, towards creating positive change with tangible plans towards stakeholder capitalism. This Forum will play an important role in initiating the right conversations within the ESG space in India and in contributing towards thought leadership in ESG research, industry use cases and timely policy interventions.

Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India said, “ESG is gaining prominence in terms of the Government's agenda be it achieving the Net Zero target by 2070, the NDC commitments for 2030, the extended product responsibility regulations and SEBI’s BRSR regulations around reporting and disclosures. Achieving this requires a platform approach which brings together relevant stakeholders to ideate, align initiatives and develop roadmaps for achieving interlinked goals. Moving beyond strategy and expediting actions will be key to making an impact.

We are proud to join hands with IIM-A to provide a forum to foster meaningful conversations, empower stakeholders with adequate research, enable thought leadership to build alliance ecosystems and raise resources to plan and execute ESG-led transformation. We believe partnerships of this nature will play a significant role in bolstering the nation’s ESG agenda and help in meeting the climate goals.”

PwC Global is focusing on turning ESG theory into action by helping create outcomes that drive value and fuel growth, whilst strengthening our environment and societies. This Forum will be instrumental in bringing together a community of solvers (environmentalists, sociologists, economists, strategists, technologists), industry, and academia - to work towards finding solutions that can be embedded into various business functions effectively and for the long term.

This collaboration between the Institute and PwC has been facilitated by the IIMA Endowment Fund (IIMA EF) – the Institute’s unified fundraising and philanthropic arm that facilitates all donations given to IIMA.

On facilitating the setting up of the ESG Forum at IIMA, Ms Chhavi Moodgal, CEO, IIMA EF said, “IIMA Endowment Fund focuses on continuously identifying opportunities in which IIMA wants to build academic and research capabilities - particularly topical themes like sustainability which will be relevant from a public policy and industry perspective over many years. Accordingly, we have also been instrumental in identifying corporate collaborations for the Institute. We are pleased to announce another concrete step towards shaping the ESG ecosystem in India through the PwC ESG Forum. This Forum will be an important platform to support dialogue and dissemination of cutting-edge research to improve ESG performance of Indian organizations and enterprises. We hope that the industry-academia collaborative effort of this Forum will help in spreading the word on ESG themes and research globally. We thank Sanjeev Krishan and the PwC India team for this contribution to IIMA.”

The IIMA EF is the first of its kind at any B School in the country. It has been instituted to provide funding support for IIMA’s initiatives in strategically building thought leadership, research and academic excellence, globally.

About IIMA:

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a premier, global management Institute that is at the forefront of promoting excellence in the field of management education. Over the 60 years of its existence, it has been acknowledged for its exemplary contributions to scholarship, practice and policy through its distinctive teaching, high-quality research, nurturing future leaders, supporting industry, government, social enterprise and creating a progressive impact on society.

IIMA was founded as an innovative initiative by the Government, industry and international academia in 1961. Since then, it has been consolidating its global footprint and today it has a network with over 80 top international institutions and a presence in Dubai. Its eminent faculty members and close to 40,000 alumni, who are at the helm of influential positions in all walks of life also contribute to its global recognition. Over the years, IIMA’s academically superior, market-driven, and socially impactful programmes, have earned high reputation and acclaim globally. It became the first Indian institution to receive international accreditation from EQUIS. The renowned flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) is ranked 26th in the FT master’s in management Ranking 2021 and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has been ranked 62nd in the FT Global MBA rankings 2022. The institute also is placed first in the Government of India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), India Rankings 2022. IIMA offers consultancy services and more than 200 curated executive education programmes in customized, blended, and open enrolment formats for a diverse audience comprising of business leaders, policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, government officials, armed forces personnel, agri-business and other niche sector specialists and entrepreneurs.

To know more about IIMA, please visit: https://www.iima.ac.in/

About PwC:

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 328,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.

Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.


© 2022 PwC. All rights reserved.

Prof. Mukesh Sud (IIM Ahmedabad) and Prof. Priyank Narayan (Ashoka University) Launch their Book

Leapfrog – Six practices to thrive at work’

The book, published by Penguin Random House, was launched by Director IIM Ahmedabad and Chairperson Ashoka University at an impressive event at India International Centre, Lodhi Estate.

Delving on the contemporary ways of life with much enunciation on the entrepreneurial journey, Mukesh Sud and Priyank Narayan have co-authored a book, 'Leapfrog – Six practices to thrive at work. The book was launched on 1st December at India International Centre, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi.

The book was launched amidst an impressive audience full of faculty, professors, students, and leading personalities from the education sector, such as Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, the Chairperson of Ashoka University; Prof. Errol D'Souza, the Director of IIM Ahmedabad, Ashish Dhawan, Founding Chairperson of Ashoka University, and Sanjeev Bikhchandani, a well-known entrepreneur and Co-founder of Info Edge.

Published by Penguin, Leapfrog – Six practices to thrive at work is available across online and retail platforms across India. The book has the potential to be a game changer for young leaders, budding entrepreneurs, and millennials, as the book revolves around deciphering solutions to everyday challenges. Having rich and extensive academic and entrepreneurial experience, Sud and Narayan have divulged a list of pragmatically synthesized ideas to cope with the challenges of work and life. It’s a valuable handbook for those who want to thrive at the workplace or excel in their entrepreneurial journey where the book goes beyond the professional gamut and is effectively applied to everyday life as well. The book in one way or other inspires people to lead their professional lives happily.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukesh Sud said, “Life works in certain ways where its course of action cannot be ascertained beforehand. Dedicating my entire life to academia and my experience as an entrepreneur, I identified the subtle connection between work and life, which we have captured in the book. Leapfrog will help people thrive in their professional and personal life”.

Priyank Narayan said, “Given that our book did not belong to the conventional fictional genre, we decided to adopt an anecdotal style driving inspiration from our real-time classroom conversations and moulded it into story-telling form, to stimulate the interest of the readers. Leapfrog is an easy read, and everyone can benefit from the intelligible insights".

Ashish Dhawan, Founding Chairperson of Ashoka University, added, “The book has a great amalgamation of real-life experiences and behavioural science theories strung together beautifully by Mr Priyank Narayan and Mr Mukesh Sud. Leapfrog is the kind of book that resonates with everyone, no matter what position you hold in the corporate hierarchy. It teaches you grit & perseverance, two things that will definitely help readers from any walk of life”.

IIM Ahmedabad Launches Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Centre to Serve as a Platform for Industry, Academia, Researchers and Students for Research and Knowledge Generation

Ahmedabad, August 16, 2021: The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, a premiere global management Institute, announces the launch of the Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSA). The endowment for this Centre has been contributed by Mr Deepak Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Group.

The Centre shall undertake leading-edge research in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence that will support businesses, governance, and policymaking. It aims to forge synergistic and collaborative relationships between scholars and practitioners in data-intensive organizations, besides undertaking case-based research to understand the current industry practice and develop case studies for classroom teaching.

Announcing the launch of the Centre, Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, said, “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence are increasingly impacting businesses across the world. AI has become an inevitable part of our lives. To harness the power of these advanced technologies for augmenting businesses, the need of the hour is to bring together different stakeholders onto the same platform, conduct intensive research to identify challenges, determine potential and provide impactful insights. The Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIMA will take on an important role wherein it will create knowledge that will further augment growth in business and societal advancement, at large, through its offerings.”

Besides connecting relevant stakeholders, CDSA will also be responsible for dissemination of the knowledge to a wide audience both within and outside the realm of the Institute through seminars, workshops and conferences.

Elaborating on the goals of the Centre, Professor Ankur Sinha, Co-Chairperson, CDSA said, “We intend to develop the Centre as the epicentre of knowledge on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. An important step towards this goal is to undertake in-depth research on the practical application of data science and AI and share the knowledge generated, thereof. We also aim to engage with the industry and establish synergies that can provide sound technical exposure to the students and offer plausible solutions that can be utilised by the industry and academia.”

Professor Anindya S Chakrabarti, Co-Chairperson, CDSA explained the imminent need for research and development in the field of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. “AI has transitioned from being a field of science to an integral element of our daily lives. There is a pressing need to harness the power of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. This can be a game changer, not just for businesses but also for societal needs. The Centre will provide insights that can be of tremendous value to policy makers,” said Professor Chakrabarti.

The Centre will also take up challenging consulting projects of considerable practical importance in collaboration with industry players. One of the major highlights of the Centre is an exhaustive annual report on the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence industry in the country, which shall provide a holistic view of the industry, identify challenges and gaps, gauge scope of the industry and offer plausible solutions.

Advisory Committee Members:

The advisory committee of the Centre includes Sanjiv Das, William and Janice Terry Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business; Sunil Gupta, Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration, and co-chair of the executive program on Driving Digital Strategy at Harvard Business School; Tiziana Di Matteo, Professor of Econophysics in the Department of Mathematics, King’s College, London.

About IIM Ahmedabad:

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a premier, global management Institute that is at the forefront of promoting excellence in the field of management education. Over the 60 years of its existence, it has been acknowledged for its exemplary contributions to scholarship, practice and policy through its distinctive teaching, high-quality research, nurturing future leaders, supporting industry, government, social enterprise and creating a progressive impact on society.

IIMA was founded as an innovative initiative by the Government, industry and international academia in 1961. Since then, it has been consolidating its global footprint and today it has a network with over 80 top international institutions and a presence in Dubai. Its eminent faculty members and close to 40,000 alumni, who are at the helm of influential positions in all walks of life also contribute to its global recognition.

Over the years, IIMA’s academically superior, market-driven, and socially impactful programmes, have earned high reputation and acclaim globally. It became the first Indian institution to receive international accreditation from EQUIS. The renowned flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) is ranked 20th in the FT Master in Management Ranking 2020 and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has been ranked 48th in the FT Global MBA rankings 2021. The institute also is placed first in the Government of India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), India Rankings 2020. IIMA offers consultancy services and more than 200 curated executive education programmes in customized, blended, and open enrolment formats for a diverse audience comprising of business leaders, policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, government officials, armed forces personnel, agri-business and other niche sector specialists and entrepreneurs. To know more about IIMA, please visit: https://www.iima.ac.in/

To Watch the Launch Live on You Tube, Click: https://youtu.be/ildWRmaExXY

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla Delivers IIM Ahmedabad’s 56th Convocation Address Virtually

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIMA delivered the Convocation Address at IIMA's 56th Annual Convocation 2021

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla encourages IIMA student to have clarity on their ‘North Star’ and complement their IQ with EQ

605 students from the PhD, PGP, PGP-FABM and PGPX programmes conferred degrees

May 8, 2021: The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), India’s foremost and globally recognized management institute held its 56th annual convocation virtually at 12.00 p.m. today. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, Board of Governors (BoGs), IIMA and Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA graced the occasion, as other members of the Board, faculty, staff, alumni, graduating students and their families joined the event virtually. The ceremony was broadcasted at https://www.iima.ac.in/convocation2021/ earlier today.

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, BoGs, IIMA, declared opened the first virtual convocation followed by the invocation, setting the stage for a memorable graduation ceremony. Mr. Birla thereafter conferred Ph.D. titles, MBA, MBA-FABM, and MBA-PGPX degree and awarded scholastic medals. This was followed by the convocation address by Mr. Birla.

A total of 605 graduating students were conferred titles, degrees and included students from IIMA’s full-time long duration programmes, i.e. the Ph.D. Programme in Management, the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), the Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agribusiness Management (FABM-MBA) and the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX). The toppers from each programme were awarded gold medals in recognition of their accomplishments.

Degrees conferred to the students of the Two-Year Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agri-business Management (MBA-FABM)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Programme  Name	Batch	Graduated Students	Gold Medallist
Ph.D.  Programme in Management	2021   (Graduating Year)	15	_
Two-Year  Post Graduate programme in Management (MBA)	2019-21	405	1.     Akhil Mangla   2.     Arunabh Saxena   3.      Vikas Kumar
Two-Year  Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agribusiness Management (MBA-FABM)	2019-21	45	_
One-year  Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX)	2020-21	140	1.      Deep Kr Bothra
Total  Graduates	605

Delivering the convocation address, Mr. Birla, congratulated the graduates and said, “It is important that you have clarity on your North Star, but then be adventurous and experiment, use these experiences to build your flywheel and compliment your IQ with EQ. I don’t see IQ and EQ as binary qualities, but rather as complementary traits that make a personality wholesome You need to add other dimensions to your thinking, most importantly, of empathy and humility.

When you look back in a few years you must ask yourself just one question. Did I make a difference? It doesn’t matter whether you are a marketer or a consultant, an entrepreneur or a techie. Have you advanced progress in your field and added to the cumulative repository of knowledge and wisdom? If the answer is yes. Then you have done justice to the education you have received and lived up to the rich legacy of this iconic institution."

In his concluding address, Prof. Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, applauded the perseverance and hard work of the students and faculty in the face of the pandemic. Prof. D’Souza said, “Doing what is fair is often in conflict with showing loyalty and good citizenship behavior in organizations that the students will work in. However, in a VUCA world we require people who are just and fair.” He congratulated them for navigating choppy waters during the challenging year at the institute and encouraged them to go out and give the best they are capable of that will be beneficial not only to their careers but also to humankind.

Despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, students across programme kept up their enthusiasm, giving their best in academic and extra-curricular activities.

The Red Brick Summit, India’s biggest management symposium; Krishi Manthan, the largest International Food, Agribusiness and Rural Development Summit of Asia, were student led events that met with success. The student’s social wing proactively reached out to the weaker sections of the community, during the pandemic to provide financial aid, build community kitchens and facilitate safe travel for migrant workers to their hometowns.

Traditionally, the convocation ceremony at IIMA is held at the lush green lawns of the Louis Kahn Plaza, where the convocation march is led by the Chairperson and Director of IIMA along with other Board member, faculty and students assemble. This year, to comply with the government regulations on Covid-19, IIMA switched to the digital mode to hold its 56th convocation.

Although an online function which was different in many ways, it brought alive the memories of many who studied, stayed and taught at the institute. While the graduating students, their family and friends watched the convocation ceremony from the safety of their homes remotely, the large number of faculty and staff joined the ceremony virtually from their secure offices or homes on the campus.

The virtual ceremony ended with the Chairman IIMA BoGs declaring the 56th Annual Convocation closed.

With the passing out of the students today, IIMA will have around 39,600 alumni who include, business leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, diplomats, academics, change makers in the social sector, artists, celebrated writers, among others.

About IIM Ahmedabad:

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a premier, global management Institute that is at the forefront of promoting excellence in the field of management education. Over the 60 years of its existence, it has been acknowledged for its exemplary contributions to scholarship, practice and policy through its distinctive teaching, high-quality research, nurturing future leaders, supporting industry, government, social enterprise and creating a progressive impact on society.

IIMA was founded as an innovative initiative by the Government, industry and international academia in 1961. Since then it has been consolidating its global footprint and today it has a network with over 80 top international institutions and a presence in Dubai. Its eminent faculty members and close to 40,000 alumni, who are at the helm of influential positions in all walks of life also contribute to its global recognition.

Over the years, IIMA’s academically superior, market-driven, and socially impactful programmes, have earned high reputation and acclaim globally. It became the first Indian institution to receive international accreditation from EQUIS. The renowned flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) is ranked 20th in the FT Master in Management Ranking 2020 and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has been ranked 48th in the FT Global MBA rankings 2021. 

The institute also is placed first in the Government of India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), India Rankings 2020. IIMA offers consultancy services and more than 200 curated executive education programmes in customized, blended, and open enrolment formats for a diverse audience comprising of business leaders, policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, government officials, armed forces personnel, agri-business and other niche sector specialists and entrepreneurs. To know more about IIMA, please visit: https://www.iima.ac.in/

TiE Mumbai and IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Healthcare SIG Organize IIMPACT Health Conference - The Digital Transformtion of Healthcare

TiE Mumbai and IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Healthcare SIG organized a marquee healthcare conclave to promote, connect and foster the healthcare startup community among their peer large Healthcare Companies.

Big Data, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Wearables, mHealth, Robotics, use of Augmented Reality and 3D Printing are fundamentally transforming healthcare delivery to patients, medical research, access to healthcare, physician-physician interactions and improving efficiencies in the healthcare supply chain, among other things.

With the surge of the Healthcare Start-up ecosystem in India, there is a tremendous scope for innovative start-ups to make their presence felt. The Theme for IIMPACT Health’s very first conference was ‘The Digital Transformation of Healthcare’ and was well attended by some of the biggest names in Healthcare in India today. The purpose was to provide a platform where startups, established players, investors, academia and consultants could engage with each other, exchange ideas, debate them and network. There were interesting discussions on how technology could disrupt established healthcare businesses and scaling up healthcare startups. A couple of thought leaders presented their views on healthcare developments in the coming decade. Summing up the event, an economist opined that digital technologies were the only way to close the gap between healthcare supply and demand in India.

“India is seeing its own digital health revolution, be it the rapid growth of e-pharmacies, health wearables, use of AI to deliver treatment, clinic management via cloud-based platforms amongst others. This conference enables startups and large companies to come together and innovate towards building a digital health ecosystem,” said Atul Nishar, President, TiE Mumbai.

“The Healthcare Start-up ecosystem in India is booming, with a lot of innovative start-ups coming up to solve hereto unsolved problems,” said Sudarshan Jain, Charter Member, TiE Mumbai and IIM-A Alumnus.

“This is a transformational time in healthcare," said Jawed Zia, Head of Abbott’s pharmaceutical business in India. “The need for technology-based services that help people manage their health challenges has never been greater. Technology will influence the quality and efficiency of services for better patient outcomes across the continuum of care,” added Jawed Zia.

This one day conference was attended by over 350 delegates which included 80 startups, corporate executives, serial entrepreneurs & healthcare professionals, investors and IIM Professors.

About TiE Mumbai

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. Since 1992. TiE has been supporting entrepreneurs by offering education, mentorship, networking and funding opportunities. The mission of TiE is to foster entrepreneurship globally through the 5 pillars of TiE: mentoring, networking and education, funding and incubation. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community. TiE’s focus area is to generate enable the next generation of entrepreneurs. There are currently 11,000 members, including over 2,500 charter members in 60 chapters across 17 countries. TiE’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education.

About IIM Ahmedabad Alumni SIG

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad is India’s premier Management Institute. Considering the importance of Healthcare to society at large and the strategic issues faced by this sector, there is tremendous scope for solution generation and value creation. This led to the formation of the Healthcare Special Interest Group (SIG) in early 2019, facilitated by a core group consisting of eminent faculty members and alumni. The objective of this SIG is to provide thought leadership that can aid industry level strategy and policy formulation, provide a platform for industry-academia-government interaction, contribute to the start-up ecosystem and provide networking opportunities.

 

CIIE of IIM-A & US-based NGO Habitat Launch Startup Accelerator to Solve India's Affordable Housing Challenge

Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), an incubator of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), has partnered with Habitat for Humanity' India for the ShelterTech Accelerator which will focus on startups creating solutions for the affordable housing sector in India.

Atlanta, US-based Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-governmental, and nonprofit organization (NGO), which was founded in 1976. The NGO already has ShelterTech Accelerator in Mexico and Kenya with other partners, along with CIIE, aims at identifying and supporting innovative and scalable for-profit housing startups that can solve challenges affecting low income households, material suppliers, construction labor, developers and other key stakeholders in this sector.

The Accelerator, in addition to providing access to seed funds of up to Rs 75 Lakhs, offers selected startups intensive support in the form of customized problem solving, mentoring, access to global networks, along with the possibility of investments and an Investor Demo Day.

ShelterTech is designed as 4-month long support program and will support startups in two batches. The first batch of the top 5 to 6 startups will begin in December 2018. The second batch of 5 to 6 startups will begin by April 2019. The program ends in a demo day that will be organized in July 2019 for all startups of both the batches together.

The Accelerator will invite application in two phases; the first phase will remain open till the end of October. After the closer of first phase, a cohort of 4 to 5 startups with high potential to deliver disruptive changes in this sector will be selected for acceleration.

Interested startups can apply here - https://sheltertech.ciie.co/register

The #ShelterTechAccelerator offers intensive support to #startups solving challenges in the #AffordableHousing🏘️ sector. Get mentoring, funding💰 and more. Apply here👉🏻 https://t.co/HWmzqrh8Uk pic.twitter.com/aQCnnjY1kd

— CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad (@CIIEIndia) October 3, 2018

“The need in India matches the opportunities we see in such a large and diverse market. Through the ShelterTech Accelerator we hope to identify and support promising startups with the potential of transforming affordable housing markets in India,” said Patrick Kelley, Vice President of Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Housing.

“Affordable housing is both a tough and a complex problem that requires multiple partners to collaborate in innovative ways. Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity positions us to offer an unparalleled support system for founders working in this space. Founders will be able to avail financial support through seed funds, engage with the top domain experts and industry partners; and get access to global affordable housing ecosystem,” said Ashwin Joshi, Senior Vice President - Ecosystem, CIIE.

The accelerator has been launched on Saturday, at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, where ecosystem players and sector experts from BrickEagle, Brigade REAP, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Atal Innovation Mission, Micro Housing Finance Corporation, Habitat for Humanity International, CIIE and others, gathered to share their insights and brainstorm on the challenges that constrict the housing sector in India.

In August, CIIE had also partnered with J.P. Morgan, a global banking and financial services provider, to set up a Financial Inclusion Lab (FIL) that will focus on early-stage fintech startups with innovations that address the unique needs of the lower and middle income (LMI) segment.

Besides ShelterTech, Brigade REAP is also real estate focussed startup accelerator in India, touted as Asia's first to focus on Real Estate. The accelerator, in May this year, on-boarded 5 Real Estate startups for its fourth Cohort. With over 80 start-ups having applied to the program, 11 Start-ups were shortlisted out of which 5 were inducted into the program.

Source - Economics Times

[Top Image - Proptiger.com]

CIIE of IIM-A & US-based NGO Habitat Launch Startup Accelerator to Solve India's Affordable Housing Challenge

Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), an incubator of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), has partnered with Habitat for Humanity' India for the ShelterTech Accelerator which will focus on startups creating solutions for the affordable housing sector in India.

Atlanta, US-based Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-governmental, and nonprofit organization (NGO), which was founded in 1976. The NGO already has ShelterTech Accelerator in Mexico and Kenya with other partners, along with CIIE, aims at identifying and supporting innovative and scalable for-profit housing startups that can solve challenges affecting low income households, material suppliers, construction labor, developers and other key stakeholders in this sector.

The Accelerator, in addition to providing access to seed funds of up to Rs 75 Lakhs, offers selected startups intensive support in the form of customized problem solving, mentoring, access to global networks, along with the possibility of investments and an Investor Demo Day.

ShelterTech is designed as 4-month long support program and will support startups in two batches. The first batch of the top 5 to 6 startups will begin in December 2018. The second batch of 5 to 6 startups will begin by April 2019. The program ends in a demo day that will be organized in July 2019 for all startups of both the batches together.

The Accelerator will invite application in two phases; the first phase will remain open till the end of October. After the closer of first phase, a cohort of 4 to 5 startups with high potential to deliver disruptive changes in this sector will be selected for acceleration.

Interested startups can apply here - https://sheltertech.ciie.co/register

The #ShelterTechAccelerator offers intensive support to #startups solving challenges in the #AffordableHousing🏘️ sector. Get mentoring, funding💰 and more. Apply here👉🏻 https://t.co/HWmzqrh8Uk pic.twitter.com/aQCnnjY1kd

— CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad (@CIIEIndia) October 3, 2018

“The need in India matches the opportunities we see in such a large and diverse market. Through the ShelterTech Accelerator we hope to identify and support promising startups with the potential of transforming affordable housing markets in India,” said Patrick Kelley, Vice President of Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Housing.

“Affordable housing is both a tough and a complex problem that requires multiple partners to collaborate in innovative ways. Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity positions us to offer an unparalleled support system for founders working in this space. Founders will be able to avail financial support through seed funds, engage with the top domain experts and industry partners; and get access to global affordable housing ecosystem,” said Ashwin Joshi, Senior Vice President - Ecosystem, CIIE.

The accelerator has been launched on Saturday, at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, where ecosystem players and sector experts from BrickEagle, Brigade REAP, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Atal Innovation Mission, Micro Housing Finance Corporation, Habitat for Humanity International, CIIE and others, gathered to share their insights and brainstorm on the challenges that constrict the housing sector in India.

In August, CIIE had also partnered with J.P. Morgan, a global banking and financial services provider, to set up a Financial Inclusion Lab (FIL) that will focus on early-stage fintech startups with innovations that address the unique needs of the lower and middle income (LMI) segment.

Besides ShelterTech, Brigade REAP is also real estate focussed startup accelerator in India, touted as Asia's first to focus on Real Estate. The accelerator, in May this year, on-boarded 5 Real Estate startups for its fourth Cohort. With over 80 start-ups having applied to the program, 11 Start-ups were shortlisted out of which 5 were inducted into the program.

Source - Economics Times

[Top Image - Proptiger.com]

J.P. Morgan, CIIE-IIMA To Launch $9.5 Mn Financial Inclusion Lab in India for Fintech Startups in Early-Stage

Global banking and financial services provider J.P. Morgan has collaboated with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) affiliated Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) to set up a Financial Inclusion Lab (FIL) that will focus on early-stage fintech startups with innovations that address the unique needs of the lower and middle income (LMI) segment.

Under this US$9.5 million FIL initiative, J.P. Morgan has committed $7 million over the next four years while rest will be borne by IIM-A's CIIE. The initiative is aimed at identifying and bringing to scale early-stage fintech start-ups that are focused on helping people in India within the lower and middle income (LMI) segment who earn US$2-US$10 a day. The start-ups will enable access and usage of appropriate financial products and services such as savings, credit and insurance for LMI households.

The Lab is part of IIMA-CIIE’s Bharat Inclusion Initiative (BII), a program launched in May that aims to incubate and support start-ups that are focused on developing technologies that can be used for the benefit of underserved communities in the areas of livelihoods, financial inclusion, health and education. J.P. Morgan will provide up to US$7 million over the next four years towards this initiative. This would be the largest philanthropic commitment made by J.P. Morgan outside of the U.S. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are also supporting the Lab as part of their overall commitment to BII.

The Lab will draw insights and learnings from the work performed by the JPMorgan Chase-funded Financial Solutions Lab, a five-year program launched in the U.S. in 2014 and managed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation. Over the past four years, this initiative has supported the development and scaling of fintech solutions that have improved the financial wellbeing of underserved communities in the U.S. To date, participating fintechs have reached over 2.5 million Americans and have seen their users grow 20 times since joining the program.

“India’s vision of creating digital technology driven access to financial services will be incomplete unless we bring these offerings to the lower and middle income segments who are in urgent need of these financial products and services. Our initiative aims to identify and nurture fintech start-ups to generate innovative ideas which will help make financial products and services more accessible to this critical mass of Indians. JPMorgan Chase’s Financial Solutions Lab model is being introduced outside of the U.S for the first time. We are pleased to collaborate with CIIE’s Bharat Inclusion Initiative to help establish it in India,” said Kalpana Morparia, CEO, South and South East Asia, J.P. Morgan.

The initiative will also glean insights from international financial inclusion consulting firm MicroSave and CIIE on where and how fintechs can help the LMI segment. Recent research conducted by CIIE and MicroSave revealed that LMI households have erratic financial inflows and many in the LMI segment struggle to adopt digital platforms for their financial needs. “Over 80 per cent of the addressable LMI market, or 470 million people, are not integrated into the economic mainstream. Early stage fintechs, when provided with the right mentoring, insights and capital support, can have a huge and positive impact on the lives of many people,” said Anil Gupta, Associate Director, MicroSave.

The Lab will host a series of accelerator programs to identify solutions for specific financial challenges, and leading ideas will be supported with start-up capital, market access, technical assistance, mentoring and sector expertise. Fintech entrepreneurs are now being invited to apply to join the Lab.

“The Financial Inclusion Lab is a critical component of the Bharat Inclusion Initiative continuum and will build upon CIIE’s decade long experience of running incubators, accelerators and impact funds to provide inclusion focused tech entrepreneurs the comprehensive support required to turbocharge their journeys. We are excited to partner with J.P. Morgan to create access and opportunity for more people to join the financial mainstream by unlocking entrepreneurial energy,” said Priyanka Chopra, COO, CIIE.

Last month, CIIE has made the first close of $150 million Bharat Innovations Fund, which was a href="http://indianweb2/2016/07/08/iim-incubators-plans-raise-150m-bharat-innovations-fund-invests-clean-tech-startups/">announced in July 2016.

In May 2018, the BII announced support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Omidyar Network towards backing start-ups leveraging the ongoing digital transformation in India to create access to services that were hitherto inaccessible for a large segment of Indians.

Additionally, in an another welcome move of a foreign nation towards Indian startups, Bahrain is also welcoming startups and venture capitalists from India to access it's startup ecosystem. Bahrains Economic Development Board has already set up its office in Mumbai to accelerate its fintech development program and even launched a new fintech fund to invest in Indian startups that have an economic interest in Bahrain.

Source - Business Wire India

J.P. Morgan, CIIE-IIMA To Launch $9.5 Mn Financial Inclusion Lab in India for Fintech Startups in Early-Stage

Global banking and financial services provider J.P. Morgan has collaboated with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) affiliated Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) to set up a Financial Inclusion Lab (FIL) that will focus on early-stage fintech startups with innovations that address the unique needs of the lower and middle income (LMI) segment.

Under this US$9.5 million FIL initiative, J.P. Morgan has committed $7 million over the next four years while rest will be borne by IIM-A's CIIE. The initiative is aimed at identifying and bringing to scale early-stage fintech start-ups that are focused on helping people in India within the lower and middle income (LMI) segment who earn US$2-US$10 a day. The start-ups will enable access and usage of appropriate financial products and services such as savings, credit and insurance for LMI households.

The Lab is part of IIMA-CIIE’s Bharat Inclusion Initiative (BII), a program launched in May that aims to incubate and support start-ups that are focused on developing technologies that can be used for the benefit of underserved communities in the areas of livelihoods, financial inclusion, health and education. J.P. Morgan will provide up to US$7 million over the next four years towards this initiative. This would be the largest philanthropic commitment made by J.P. Morgan outside of the U.S. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are also supporting the Lab as part of their overall commitment to BII.

The Lab will draw insights and learnings from the work performed by the JPMorgan Chase-funded Financial Solutions Lab, a five-year program launched in the U.S. in 2014 and managed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation. Over the past four years, this initiative has supported the development and scaling of fintech solutions that have improved the financial wellbeing of underserved communities in the U.S. To date, participating fintechs have reached over 2.5 million Americans and have seen their users grow 20 times since joining the program.

“India’s vision of creating digital technology driven access to financial services will be incomplete unless we bring these offerings to the lower and middle income segments who are in urgent need of these financial products and services. Our initiative aims to identify and nurture fintech start-ups to generate innovative ideas which will help make financial products and services more accessible to this critical mass of Indians. JPMorgan Chase’s Financial Solutions Lab model is being introduced outside of the U.S for the first time. We are pleased to collaborate with CIIE’s Bharat Inclusion Initiative to help establish it in India,” said Kalpana Morparia, CEO, South and South East Asia, J.P. Morgan.

The initiative will also glean insights from international financial inclusion consulting firm MicroSave and CIIE on where and how fintechs can help the LMI segment. Recent research conducted by CIIE and MicroSave revealed that LMI households have erratic financial inflows and many in the LMI segment struggle to adopt digital platforms for their financial needs. “Over 80 per cent of the addressable LMI market, or 470 million people, are not integrated into the economic mainstream. Early stage fintechs, when provided with the right mentoring, insights and capital support, can have a huge and positive impact on the lives of many people,” said Anil Gupta, Associate Director, MicroSave.

The Lab will host a series of accelerator programs to identify solutions for specific financial challenges, and leading ideas will be supported with start-up capital, market access, technical assistance, mentoring and sector expertise. Fintech entrepreneurs are now being invited to apply to join the Lab.

“The Financial Inclusion Lab is a critical component of the Bharat Inclusion Initiative continuum and will build upon CIIE’s decade long experience of running incubators, accelerators and impact funds to provide inclusion focused tech entrepreneurs the comprehensive support required to turbocharge their journeys. We are excited to partner with J.P. Morgan to create access and opportunity for more people to join the financial mainstream by unlocking entrepreneurial energy,” said Priyanka Chopra, COO, CIIE.

Last month, CIIE has made the first close of $150 million Bharat Innovations Fund, which was a href="https://www.indianweb2.com/2016/07/08/iim-incubators-plans-raise-150m-bharat-innovations-fund-invests-clean-tech-startups/">announced in July 2016.

In May 2018, the BII announced support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Omidyar Network towards backing start-ups leveraging the ongoing digital transformation in India to create access to services that were hitherto inaccessible for a large segment of Indians.

Additionally, in an another welcome move of a foreign nation towards Indian startups, Bahrain is also welcoming startups and venture capitalists from India to access it's startup ecosystem. Bahrains Economic Development Board has already set up its office in Mumbai to accelerate its fintech development program and even launched a new fintech fund to invest in Indian startups that have an economic interest in Bahrain.

Source - Business Wire India

IIM-A Affiliated Bharat Innovation Fund Marks Its First Close At $50 million

Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), which had earlier announced its $150 million Bharat Innovations Fund in mid-2016, has made the first close of its fund at $50 million, reported LiveMint.

Bharat Innovation Fund is an early-stage, deep-tech and intellectual property-focused venture fund affiliated with the CIIE. CIIE is the fund manager for the entrepreneurship centre at Ahmedabad.

While in 2016 it was announced that the fund will be of corpus $150, CIIE is now targeting a $100 million corpus.

The fund, which will target funding pre-Series-A and Series-A ventures has managed to secure commitments from institutional investors, including corporates, banks, insurers and fund of funds such as SIDBI, ICICI Lombard, Philips, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and RBL Bank, the firm said in a statement.

The fund is managed by Kunal Upadhyay, Shyam Menon and Ashwin Raguraman, Sanjay Jain and Som Pal Choudhury.

“Indian entrepreneurs are producing globally-competitive IP-driven innovations across themes such as healthcare and biotech, agriculture, energy and enterprise tech, enabled by cutting-edge research and trends, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things and India stack, among others. Bharat Innovation Fund will catalyse these transformational deep-tech start-ups by providing them capital, access to market, strategic inputs and partnership connects,” said Kunal Upadhyay, managing partner, Bharat Innovation Fund.

CIIE has seeded over 200 start-ups across its various programmes such as iAccelerator, Power of Ideas, Powerstart, India Innovation Growth Program and Startup Oasis, among others.

In the past, CIIE incubated startups include Razorpay, Hashcube, Rolocule, and Thrillophilia, among others. In 2015, the centre had launched India’s first Food & Agri-Business accelerator for startups in food and agri-business sector.

In 2013, CIIE had launched India’s first clean-tech-focused venture fund, Infuse Ventures, which has backed start-ups across the clean-tech domain.

IIM-Ahmedabad Centre Launches $25 Mn Seed Fund To Invest in Tech Startups

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIMA’s) centre for innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched a US$25 million seed fund named 'Bharat Inclusion Initiative', which aims to mentor and invest in early stage tech startups over the next three-four years, reported Economic Times.

The initiative will focus on incubating and backing startups that work in areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.

With seed support from Tata Trusts, the initiative has received an initial commitment of $12.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and Omidyar Network. This includes a $5 million commitment for providing catalytic support to start-ups through a series of acceleration programmes, focused research, training workshops and piloting partnerships. In addition, CIIE will also invest in seed and pre-Series-A start-ups through a dedicated Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund - which announced its initial closing at $7.5 million, and is expected to make a final close at $15 million by July, 2018.

“The Bharat Inclusion Initiative aims to provide a continuum of solutions to inclusion-focused tech entrepreneurs across the pre-incubation, seed and scale-up stage and help them jump to the next orbit. It is heartening to see the support for this initiative from all the partners,” said Neharika Vohra, chairperson, CIIE Initiatives.

Pawan Bakhshi, India Lead, Financial Services for the Poor, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "At Gates Foundation, we are committed to creating a disproportionate and sustained impact on some of the most critical challenges facing the nation today."

Through in-depth research to build knowledge about the under-served, incubating new start-ups in this space and providing access to soft and patient capital as these ventures take root, the Bharat Inclusion Initiative will seek to catalyse entrepreneurs who are building disruptive solutions for Bharat.

According to Santhosh Ramdoss, director, India programmes, at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, a large portion of urban poor families in India do not have any formal access to financial services. “We are presented with a landmark opportunity to take on this challenge, given India’s leadership in building a cutting-edge public technology infrastructure that can be used to seamlessly deliver a variety of critical digital services to low-income families."

Speaking about Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, in February, the foundation has led the $13.5 million (~ Rs 87 crore) funding of Bengaluru based edtech startup IMAX Program.

In August 2017, it was reported that the foundation is looking to launch incubator for startups in India. And for same, the foundation is reportedly in talks with IIM-Ahmedabad’s CIIE.

CIIE was founded to support entrepreneurs and turn business ideas into viable businesses models. It partners with industry experts, mentors, corporates, IIMA community and investors to help incubate early-stage start-ups.

In the past, CIIE incubated startups include Razorpay, Hashcube, Rolocule, and Thrillophilia, among others. In 2015, the centre had launched India’s first Food & Agri-Business accelerator for startups in food and agri-business sector.

IIM-Ahmedabad Centre Launches $25 Mn Seed Fund To Invest in Tech Startups

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIMA’s) centre for innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched a US$25 million seed fund named 'Bharat Inclusion Initiative', which aims to mentor and invest in early stage tech startups over the next three-four years, reported Economic Times.

The initiative will focus on incubating and backing startups that work in areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.

With seed support from Tata Trusts, the initiative has received an initial commitment of $12.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and Omidyar Network. This includes a $5 million commitment for providing catalytic support to start-ups through a series of acceleration programmes, focused research, training workshops and piloting partnerships. In addition, CIIE will also invest in seed and pre-Series-A start-ups through a dedicated Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund - which announced its initial closing at $7.5 million, and is expected to make a final close at $15 million by July, 2018.

“The Bharat Inclusion Initiative aims to provide a continuum of solutions to inclusion-focused tech entrepreneurs across the pre-incubation, seed and scale-up stage and help them jump to the next orbit. It is heartening to see the support for this initiative from all the partners,” said Neharika Vohra, chairperson, CIIE Initiatives.

Pawan Bakhshi, India Lead, Financial Services for the Poor, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "At Gates Foundation, we are committed to creating a disproportionate and sustained impact on some of the most critical challenges facing the nation today."

Through in-depth research to build knowledge about the under-served, incubating new start-ups in this space and providing access to soft and patient capital as these ventures take root, the Bharat Inclusion Initiative will seek to catalyse entrepreneurs who are building disruptive solutions for Bharat.

According to Santhosh Ramdoss, director, India programmes, at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, a large portion of urban poor families in India do not have any formal access to financial services. “We are presented with a landmark opportunity to take on this challenge, given India’s leadership in building a cutting-edge public technology infrastructure that can be used to seamlessly deliver a variety of critical digital services to low-income families."

Speaking about Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, in February, the foundation has led the $13.5 million (~ Rs 87 crore) funding of Bengaluru based edtech startup IMAX Program.

In August 2017, it was reported that the foundation is looking to launch incubator for startups in India. And for same, the foundation is reportedly in talks with IIM-Ahmedabad’s CIIE.

CIIE was founded to support entrepreneurs and turn business ideas into viable businesses models. It partners with industry experts, mentors, corporates, IIMA community and investors to help incubate early-stage start-ups.

In the past, CIIE incubated startups include Razorpay, Hashcube, Rolocule, and Thrillophilia, among others. In 2015, the centre had launched India’s first Food & Agri-Business accelerator for startups in food and agri-business sector.

CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad Invests in Two HealthTech Startups - Doux Dentistry & Zeolr

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has invested undisclosed amounts in Doux Dentistry, an innovative dental care startup aiming to make dental care affordable & accessible for patients at their homes under the brand name Mobident, and Zeolr, an IoT based healthcare startup that is developing solutions to aid in better management of chronic diseases by patients and availability of information to physicians for regular supervision, revision and reinforcement.

With healthcare innovation being one of CIIE’s focus areas, at present, its healthcare portfolio consists of 9 startups across medical devices, e-Health, health-education and home care. These startups have enjoyed tremendous market response and continue to receive strategic advisory and mentoring support from CIIE.

Founded by Dr. Devaiah, a dentist with over twenty years of experience, and Vivek Madappa, a serial entrepreneur, Doux Dentistry, already has presence in 4 cities - Bangalore, Pune, Mysore and Ahmedabad. Lack of awareness and the consequence of neglecting dental health among the population, are barriers that they want to address.

Mobident’s “Dental clinic in a Suitcase”, the flagship innovation of Doux Dentistry, is an asset-light model designed to address the core challenges of dental care industry such as end-user experience and high cost of dental services in India. It’s first-of-its-kind model is one tenth the cost of setting up a new clinic and provides almost all the dental diagnostics and corrective procedures that are available in a dental clinic at the comfort of our own homes, offices, schools and hospital OPD’s.

For Mobident, it is an opportunity to derive cross learnings from CIIE and propel their business to the next level through active support in fund-raise and business development.

Vivek Madappa, Co-founder, Mobident said, ”Besides providing a startup with an excellent platform like ET Power of Ideas to validate their business idea, CIIE offers a startup credibility, visibility, exposure, and excellent connections backed by investments. We are grateful to CIIE for giving us an orbit shifting platform.”

Zeolr’s flagship product, RespirON, is a comprehensive modern approach to help asthmatic and COPD patients as well as their physicians come up with the best plan for managing their conditions. It is a three tier system that includes a device and a smartphone application (compatible with Android, iOS & Windows) connected to the cloud server that helps patients and physicians consistently monitor and manage their condition.

For Zeolr, CIIE comes with the much needed hands-on support to ease the hardships and mitigate the risks that most early-stage startups experience. The Zeolr team consists of 2 passionate engineers, Roshit Gopinath and Ajay Saini, who began working on their dream venture right from college.

Roshit Gopinath, CEO, Zeolr said, “Our mission is to conceptualize the application of latest technology into healthcare services. With support from CIIE, we hope to turn this mission into reality.”

J Salim Vali, Vice President (Investments), CIIE said, “CIIE-IIMA is delighted to invest in Zeolr and Mobident. These companies have immense potential and we believe that their innovative ideas will play a key role in solving few critical healthcare issues. We believe that the combination of India's mettlesome entrepreneurs and CIIE will play a key role in solving many complex issues. ”

With Mobident, CIIE hopes to test the waters in the homecare innovation space and foray into more asset light models that address key barriers in making healthcare ubiquitous, while Zeolr is poised to set in motion CIIE’s active involvement in Healthcare IoT. As a matter of fact, CIIE’s commitment to the sector also culminated in the launch of its first Healthcare Accelerator earlier this year, and is all set to bring a new set of market driven healthcare innovations by the end of 2016.

Image Source: ShutterStock

IIM-A Incubator Plans to Raise $150M Bharat Innovations Fund to Invest in Healthcare, Agriculture and Energy Sectors

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) is poised to move forward with a new $150 million Bharat Innovations Fund which will focus on sectors like healthcare, agriculture and energy. The Infuse fund that CIIE launched in 2013 with a corpus of over $15 million, was only focussed on the clean energy and green-tech space.

Infuse Ventures’ entire corpus is likely to be deployed by year end, after which the Bharat Innovation Fund will kick into play, as per DealStreetAsia report.

CIIE is the fund manager for the entrepreneurship centre at Ahmedabad. It will shortly start raising the Bharat Fund.

Infuse has invested in firms like Internet of Things startup Altizon Systems Pvt. Ltd (in which Wipro Ventures Ltd recently invested), energy management startup Ecolibrium Energy Pvt. Ltd, and recycling firm Karma Recycling Pvt. Ltd. “Infuse has made 14 investments so far, including one company that has shut down. We have deployed more than 90 per cent of our first fund and are reserving the remainder for follow-on or bridge funding into our own companies this year,” Kunal Upadhyay, CEO, Infuse Ventures said. “New investments will be out of Bharat and Infuse will only support existing portfolio companies.”

Infuse Ventures’ investments are equity-linked structures, with the attempt to syndicate deals or bring in other angels or investors who are interested in the space. Typically the investments ranges between Rs 1- 10 crore. Infuse also helps its portfolio companies raise debt, and four of its investors are banks.

“Infuse is mandated to invest in entities incorporated in India and predominantly serving the Indian market. But we are very interested in sourcing technologies developed elsewhere that may have a large opportunity in India,” Upadhyay said while commenting on whether Infuse would be interested in overseas companies.

Other clean tech areas that CIIE is looking at is rooftop solar and solar as a service, along with water-tech. “There is significant resource efficiency potential in both these sectors, and it is possible for new business models to exploit this potential,” Kunal added.