Considering the overwhelming response from buddingentrepreneurs, Innovation Mission Punjab— a unique public-private partnershipto promote entrepreneurship in Punjab, has extended the last date to submitapplications for ‘Roar- Punjab’s Biggest Idea Hunt’ to December 15, 2021.Initially, the deadline to submit business ideas for Roar was November 15,2021.
Startup Punjab Cell, which is the nodal agency fordeveloping the startup ecosystem in the state for promoting innovation,entrepreneurship and startups has been working in close collaboration withInnovation Mission Punjab with aim at transforming the economy of Punjab bytargeting the State to be among India’s top three innovation hubs. The IdeaHunt will serve as an opportunity for the participants to interact withsuccessful startups and industry leaders and gain mentorship from globalexperts.
Industries and Commerce Minister Gurkirat Singh, whileaffirming that Roar is a welcome step being taken by Innovation Mission Punjab,exhorted the budding entrepreneurs to grab the opportunity.
“Punjab is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, and I amsure enterprising people from all over the state will make the most of thisopportunity by applying for the Idea Hunt in large numbers,” he said, while assuringthat Government of Punjab will extend all possible assistance to startups andbudding entrepreneurs every step of the way in their entrepreneurial journey.
Pertinently, the winners of Roar, an open-ended startupcontest, will be entitled to cash awards including a cash award of Rs 2 lakhfor each of the top three winners in the early-stage startup category, a cashprize of Rs 1 lakh each for the top three winners in the idea stage, and cashprizes of Rs 1 lakh each for the best women-led and social impact ideas. Whileall the winners will be provided free co-working space for three months at thenew office and accelerator coming up at Kalkat Bhawan as a major incentive, thebest early-stage startups will get a jumpstart to the final screening round forthe Accelerator program and the best startup ideas can also directly competefor the Pre-Accelerator program. The Accelerator and Pre-Accelerator programswill serve as platforms to support early-stage and idea-stage entrepreneurs,respectively.
Chairperson Innovation Mission Punjab Pramod Bhasin said,“Roar is a first step to encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to come forward withtheir ideas and innovative approaches that will shape the economy of Punjab. Weare looking to turn Punjab into India’s startup powerhouse and a role model inthe startup landscape of the country by empowering would-be entrepreneurs andhelping them realise their ambitions.”
Innovation Mission Punjab and Startup Punjab are invitingboth idea-stage and early-stage startups led by students, homepreneurs, women,young professionals and all those with a passion for entrepreneurship,irrespective of age and qualification, to come forward and apply for thisstartup contest. The event will serve as a platform to help validate ideas andpre-launch products or services. Interested applicants who have conceptualisedtheir startup ideas or are in the process of giving them a practical shape canregister their entries at https://www.impunjab.org/event/roar/ and reach out tocontact@impunjab.org for further details.
After the initial screening of applications, theshortlisted ideas will go through virtual idea validation and pitch workshopsin batches with different juries, where the top 25 ideas will be selected toundergo a week of rigorous training and mentoring to fine-tune their ideas. Ofthese, the top 10 teams will get to pitch their ideas to a stellar jurycomprising eminent investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and seniorgovernment officials. Early stage startups will also go through initialscreening and the most promising ones will pitch to a grand jury to compete forthe top three positions.
Meanwhile, the Mission has also partnered with manyrenowned institutions across the state as part of this initiative, including theThapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), Indian School ofBusiness (ISB), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER),Punjab Agricultural University, and Centre for Innovation and Business Design.