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Published on: Monday, Mon, 20 May 2024 ● 8 Min Read
HYDERABAD, India, May 20, 2024 -- IIITH's social incubator graduates 12 Social Startups and selects 10 Greentech Startups for the EPAM Social Impact Innovation Program. While it is clear that Greentech is emerging as the next sunrise sector, an analysis by Cambridge Associates shows that Emerging Markets Greentech startups attract only 9% of total investment in the sector.
Recognizing the importance of tech and entrepreneurial innovation towards sustainable climate action and to help India achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), especially Goal 13 of Climate Action, the 2nd EPAM Social Impact Innovation Program (ESIIP) is supporting Greentech Startups with a focus on Circular Economy/Resource Solutions, Green Energy: and Green Data.
Through this program, AIC-IIITH Foundation and EPAM Systems, Inc., a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company, have selected 10 Startups. The program will provide these Greentech Startups with equity-free grant of up to INR 5,00,000 and Incubation Support.
These startups were selected through a multi-stage process ending in a pitching session in front of a panel of esteemed experts including Mr Shivam Gupta, Social entrepreneur and CEO of The Affordable Organic Store, Ms Vyshali Sagar, Ms Vontair Balendu Rashmi, CSR Manager - AMD, Mr Nagesh Chukka, VP, Engineering Head, Ness Digital Engineering, Ms. Anuradha Vattem, Lead Architect at Smart City Living Lab@IIITH, Gauri Mahendra, Social Entrepreneur at Umeed, Neha Mahajan, Senior Engineering Manager, Thomson Reuters, Mohammed Asad, VP GCC Strategy, Thomson Reuters, Narayanan Ramakrishnan, Senior Director, Program Management, EPAM India, Pavan Subraveti, Product Manager, EPAM India and Srinivasa Akula, Business Analysis Team Leader, EPAM India
EPAM has provided a COVID bridge grant to 4 social startups and supported 7 climate Startups through AIC-IIITH. The day also saw the graduation of 7 Social Startups from AIC's 1st Cohort EPAM Social Impact Innovation Program from the cleantech, environment tech and waste management and 5 Social Startups from AIC's 3rd Akash Acceleration program also graduated.
Congratulating the graduating startups and these efforts, Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, Director of AIC-IIITH said, "Supporting the Social Startups which are using tech innovation to tackle wicked social problems like climate change, water management, unorganized labor, agri sector and assistive technology aligns with the core mission of IIITH and its social incubator, AIC-IIITH of advancement of Information Technologies to a positive impact on society."
Till date AIC-IIITH has run 6 cohorts and supported 50+ startups with incubation support and INR 2.5+ Cr of funding. AIC-IIITH's startups are solving pressing challenges in sectors like agriculture, education, accessibility, climate and creating 450+ jobs.
The key highlights of this year's program include milestone-based grant support of up to INR 5 Lakhs, incubation support, business coaching and access to IIIT-Hyderabad's Smart City Labs.
Startups will also be able to leverage expertise and resources of Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), IIITH's Deep-tech incubator. CIE is one of the oldest TBI in the country and has supported over 400+ startups with incubation support and INR 6+ Cr of funding.
"We're proud to support this important program, which aligns closely with our company values. We aim not just to foster social change, but also to enable startups to contribute directly to sustainability, influencing the future. We appreciate all the startups who competed and extend our congratulations to the finalists chosen for this journey. Your participation contributes to India's progress and the larger goal of a world where corporate ESG principles are intrinsic to building a better tomorrow," Kate Pretkel, VP, Special People Programs said from EPAM Systems, Inc.
The selected startups aim to deploy Green tech to help tackle various aspects of Climate crisis. These startups are:
The Startups that are graduating have been some of the star performers who are collectively making revenue of approx INR 4+ Cr and who make social impact by supporting farmers, underprivileged women and unskilled laborers, people with disability and contributing to climate action. These Startups are:
I. From 1st ESIIP cohort
II. From the 3rd Akash Acceleration cohort.
About: AIC-IIITH Foundation is an Atal Incubation Center set up exclusively for incubating and supporting tech-based social enterprises. It seeks to deploy entrepreneurial energy and technological innovation for social impact to help India achieve the SDGs. Supported by the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India, AIC-IIITH FOUNDATION also seeks to nurture the social enterprise ecosystem by acting as a platform for sharing ideas and insights. With over 10,000 sq. ft space consisting of co-working spaces, conference room, meeting space and other facilities, AIC-IIITH FOUNDATION aims to provide collaborative space to entrepreneurs. These benefits are further enhanced by the multiplying effect of agglomeration effects and network effects of being situated in the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), IIIT-Hyderabad, which is a cluster of incubation centers, research labs and resources.
For further information, please contact at: aiciiith@gmail.com or For details visit our Website - https://aic.iiit.ac.in/ and for update follows us Facebook- www.facebook.com/AICIIITH Twitter- @IiithAic and LinkedIn- linkedin.com/in/aic-iiith-foundation-12ab541a1/
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