It was a kick-start for start-ups in Goa in 2016

PANJIM: This year, it was a big start for the start-ups. Since the job opportunities are limited in Goa, the mushrooming of start-ups was not limited only to the youth. It scaled up to people translating their idea into business proposition as late as 55 years in age. The movement got a filip when various competition were launched in Goa to promote and recognise the efforts made by the go-getters.

One such competition which became the talk of the town (read state), of which oHeraldo was a media partner, was Kaun Banega Udyogpati (KBU), which was launched by the Center for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA). KBU was an innovative business idea competition aimed at providing a competitive platform for innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs to showcase and develop their idea into a commercial venture. Various individuals, group of individuals and companies which had innovative business idea participated in the competition. In fact CIBA received nearly 650 applications for registration for the competition which announced a prize money of Rs 25 lakhs. A similiar competition was also hosted by the EDC Ltd, which too generated a good buzz in the state and set the ball rolling for competitions thereafter.

The organisers did also understand that everybody cannot be an entrepreneur but they did want to give a shot in the arm to these start-ups who were managing themselves without funding and mentors. “However, we had seen some extremely talented ideators and innovators but their ideas go nowhere as they did not have the skills to develop a business model around their idea and execute that. In India, businesses are still more about execution than the idea. Its not different in Goa. On the flip side we could also see highly skilled and gifted entrepreneurs who struggle with some very ordinary business ideas. We need to appreciate both these aspects and Kaun Banega Udyogpati aspire to connect the extremes. The secret sauce was to build a complete team, comprising of a hacker, a hustler and the visionary from within the startup ecosystem to work on these ideas,” said a spokesperson of CIBA.

The imagination that every great idea is connected to a highly skilled and competent team made the peers among the start-ups feel confident that they had the potential to change the Goa’s ecosystem and make the state a force to reckon with as a start-up destination. The success stories coming out of the competition also became a source of inspiration for the young students who are still at school and colleges. 

Innovation and support for start-up has been going on in smaller ways for the last twenty-five years in India. In the last three years we have seen a thrust and boom in the startup scene. Now with the government giving special status and recognition the scene is definitely bound to leap ahead. As far as the question of the Goan start-up ecosystem is concerned we are atleast five years behind the established spaces like that of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gurgaon etc. 

However, to make up this loss Goa went on its top gear and organised several programmes and events to evolve, involve and several start-ups which now is no less that 220 and the community is growing with each passing week as the resources made available to them is becoming easier than before. Also, new incubation centers in the state are coming up to provide the incubatees the best of facilities and guidance which will help them scale-up.In April this year, the Ministry of Defence for the first time in their history of existence also announced that very soon it will be launching their “Start-up Promotion Programme” and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will also be involved in this exercise. The Union Defence Minister and former Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar, soon after the inaugurating the Agnel Institute of Technology and Design and Center for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA) at Assagao said at least thrice in his speech that the Defence Ministry will help the start-ups in Goa if asked for. 

Manohar Parrikar said, “The times of ‘respect all, trust none’, one of the belief of defence forces, is now opening up. I am ready to help the start-ups in Goa and it is an open offer to the Goa government. We can do this in next two months but for this the Goa government needs to approach the Defence Ministry.”

Mr Parrikar in his speech had added that training must be given utmost importance. “When I joined the Defence Ministry, there was no set module of briefing for me. We need to develop such things to save time. My graduation from IIT did help me in raising questions, analysising the problems and then finding solution to those problems,” added Mr Parrikar.

Yes, this promise was kept and Goa will soon (by March 2017) have a yet another incubation center which will be in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), industry body FICCI at the Don Bosco Engineering College in Margao. 

National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), an umbrella program is pioneered by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups. NIDHI focuses on building a seamless and innovation driven entrepreneurial ecosystem especially by channelizing youth towards it and thereby bringing in the positive impact on the socio-economic development of the country. The program aims to provide technological solutions not only to the pressing needs of the society but also targets to create new avenues for wealth and job creation.

Enthused and encouraged by the past success and everygrowing interest, one such competition for start-ups is already on and this time for the year 2017 it will begin with the Chief Minister’s Start-Up Challenge for which, the expectations on participation is high.