Startup Mission launched in Kolhapur
Kolhapur: Maharashtra Minister of State for Home and IT Satej Patil, launched the Kolhapur Startup Mission in partnership with Kolhapur Incubation Center (KIC) with the support of DY Patil Education Group with Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur in Kolhapur late Friday evening.
The mission is expected to invite & empower start-ups in Kolhapur and encourage self-employment among youth.
Kolhapur Startup Mission 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 initiative was inaugurated late evening on Friday on a virtual platform by an august panel led by renowned scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr. RA Mashelkar, Mr. Satej D. Patil, Minister of State (Home & IT), Government of Maharashtra, Dr. Kadambari Balkawade, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Kolhapur, and Ruturaj Patil, MLA, Kolhapur South Assembly.
Under Kolhapur Startup Mission, selected startups & innovators will be awarded up to Rs five 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 such as Water Management, Waste Management, Air Quality Management, Education, Public Health, E-governance, Agriculture, Mobility & Transportation.
The call for application will be open from Jan 15, 2021, to January 24, 2021, where any Indian startup, innovator, or anyone with an idea 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 innovative solutions to the civic problems of Kolhapur through national engagement. I assure we will provide our full support to the blooming startups in Kolhapur & I am confident this initiative will make Kolhapur one of the top startup destinations of India.”
Renowned scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr. RA Mashelkar, also expressed confidence in this initiative. He said, “Kolhapur Startup Mission is a fantastic initiative to promote innovative solutions to grassroots problems. Support from local government bodies connections to the industry plays a significant role in a startup’s success and seeing the involvement of Hon’ble Minister Satej Patil and Young MLA Ruturaj Patil, I am sure Kolhapur will become a top destination for Indian innovators.”
Municipal Commissioner of Kolhapur, Dr. Kadambari Balkawade also graced the event with her presence and shared insights on the biggest civic problems in Kolhapur that need an innovative approach to resolve sustainably.
“We are enthusiastic to work with new startups and innovators on solutions around Water, Sanitation, Waste Management, and Public Transport segment among others. We extend our full support to startups to implement their solutions in Kolhapur city & scale-up nation-wide”, said Dr. Balkawade.
