IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, with support from Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), organised the third edition of CONNECT.X, on March 20 at a hotel in Guwahati.
Recognised as Assam’s biggest startup networking event, CONNECT.X is an effort towards building a collaborative network of startups and allied entities, fostering a unified community through meaningful engagement and enriching emerging startup founders with valuable perspectives from industry stalwarts.
The event offered a unique opportunity for startup founders and professional service providers to showcase their offerings on stage and engage in one-on-one interactions during the open networking session.
With a footfall of around 100 participants, the event was attended by startup founders, professional service providers and top officials from NEDFi Venture Capital Ltd., NEHHDC, NERAMAC, TIC–IIT Guwahati and STPI, among others.
A key highlight of the event was a discussion on “Navigating the journey from product development to market launch: Best practices and pitfalls for startups,” which was conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs comprising Anjan Pathak (co-founder, Vantage Circle), Rishi Baruah (chief managing director, Pratidin Media Group), Biswajit Dey (founder, RCHobbytech Solutions) and the entrepreneur of Shark Tank India fame, Rimjim Deka (founder, Littlebox India).
The discussion was moderated by Sriparna B Baruah (advisor, NEHHDC; former head – Centre for Industrial Extension, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship).
Additionally, the event also witnessed a prize distribution ceremony for the winners of MeitY TIDE 2.0 Techathon – X3 (Assam edition). The MeitY TIDE 2.0 Techathon – X3 is Northeast India’s biggest hunt for ICT-based business ideas that celebrates the ethos of innovation and entrepreneurship. An initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in association with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, the Techathon series has been held in the major towns/cities of all Northeast states.
The three winning startups – Cloket, Parv and Leofelis Instruments – walked away with cash prizes, recognition certificates and free digital credits exceeding Rs 3 crore. They also get the opportunity to secure a MeitY grant of Rs 7 lakh or Rs 4 lakh through the MeitY EIR Fellowship and a chance to get incubated at IIM Calcutta Innovation Park.
CONNECT.X Hangout, a subprogramme of the umbrella initiative CONNECT.X, was organised by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park last year on November 30, in association with NEDFi, and received a raving response. The event was attended by chairman and managing director of NEDFi, PVSLN Murty, as the chief guest and Nagaraja Prakasam (partner, Acumen Fund; founding angel, IAN Impact) as the guest of honour.
