Kolhapur Startup Mission leverages the experience of SIIC IIT Kanpur’s world-leading incubation ecosystem, local reach & experience of Kolhapur Incubation Centre & DY Patil Group to bring together tech startups, young innovators, and local administration to co-create innovative solutions to transform communities in Kolhapur

Kolhapur, Maharashtra; Kolhapur Incubation Center & KIC with support of DY Patil Education Group with Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur have partnered to launch Kolhapur Startup Mission (KSM). KSM is the first-of-its-kind initiative to invite startups & innovators for solving the civic issues in Kolhapur city & to ignite the spark of innovation & entrepreneurship among the youth of Kolhapur. The event kicks off tomorrow, 15th January 2021 at 6:30 PM at virtual platform. It can be accessed via http://www.kolhapurstartupmission.com/ .

The initiative will be inaugurated by an august panel led by renowned scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr RA Mashelkar, Hon’ble Shri Staej D. Patil, Minister of State (Home & IT), Government of Maharashtra, Smt. Dr Kadambari Balkawade, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Kolhapur, and Shri Ruturaj Patil, MLA, Kolhapur South Assembly. The event will be hosted by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, PIC, Incubation and Innovation, IIT Kanpur.

Under Kolhapur Startup Mission, selected startups & innovators will be awarded upto INR 5.0 Lakhs for implementing their technology product and services in the district of Kolhapur through Kolhapur Incubation Center and co-incubation support from SIIC IIT Kanpur with Kolhapur Incubation Center. In the current call for application, the focus areas are some of the most critical civic issues for the city of Kolhapur - Water Management, Waste Management, Air Quality Management, Education, Public Health, E-governance, Agriculture, Mobility & Transportation. The call for application will be open from 15th Jan to 24th Jan where any Indian startup & innovator can apply.

Speaking on this, Hon'ble Minister Satej Patil said, "Kolhapur has historically been a very enterprising city. Through Kolhapur Startup Mission, we want to invite young startups to our city, facilitate testing of their ideas and bring in innovative solutions to civic problems of Kolhapur. I am confident this initiative will make Kolhapur a new startup destination."

Prof Bandhopadhyay commented, “Through Kolhapur Startup Mission, we look forward to attracting young innovators and startups towards solving the real problems faced in the tier 2 cities & rural India, and thus nurtures the students and residents of Kolhapur towards pragmatic innovation & entrepreneurship.”

About Kolhapur Startup Mission:

About Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur

Startups and social enterprises are widely regarded as the key to addressing developmental challenges, especially in emerging economies such as India. With path breaking innovation brewing at incubate startups, SIIC IIT Kanpur aims to create impact at the bottom of the pyramid. Established in the year 2000, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur is one of the oldest technology business incubators with many successes under its belt. The multifaceted, vibrant incubation ecosystem nurtured over a period of 2 decades aims to fill all the gaps that exist on the road to convert an idea into business. SIIC has developed the experience base and ecosystem that become key ingredients in the development of early-stage, technology-focused start-ups disrupting paradigms across the domains such as agriculture, healthcare, aerospace, energy, water, and education.

Website: https://siicincubator.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncubatorIITK