Gandhinagar: Gujarat, as the leading startup hub of the country, is playing a vital role in accelerating the dream of “Developed India@2047” through its strong ecosystem, guidance and financial support. Equipped with a unique combination of industrial strength, visionary policies and indomitable entrepreneurial spirit, more than 16 thousand startups have been launched in Gujarat today.
This includes more than 200 incubators and educational institutions, more than 850 women-led startups and more than 350 grassroots startups operating in urban-rural areas. Through these startups, recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade-DPIIT of the Central Government, young innovators are revolutionizing sectors ranging from deep-tech to agriculture, healthcare, cleantech and electric mobility.
Under the Gujarat Industrial Policy-2020, the state government has provided financial assistance of approximately Rs. 65 crore to more than 430 startups through the ‘Startups/Innovation Assistance Scheme’. Through which innovation is gaining momentum in high-impact sectors such as deep-tech, healthcare and life sciences, agriculture and food systems, cleantech, electric mobility, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, fintech, edutech. In addition, facilitative measures like relaxation in tender fees, EMD and prior experience criteria, direct procurement up to Rs. 15 lakh from eligible startups and setting up of a dedicated venture fund through Gujarat Venture Finance Limited have been taken.
To continuously strengthen the capabilities of the ecosystem, regular capacity development workshops are organized by the Startup Cell of the State Government for the nodal incubators. In addition, more than 300 mentors have been engaged, through which startups get strategic guidance, industry insight and support from domain-specific experts. The State Government has also received several awards in this field.
Various national and international market-access initiatives are regularly organized by the State Government to provide showcase and networking opportunities to startups at the district level. This includes networking events, GeM workshops, Grand Challenges, Hackathons as well as participation in national and global platforms like the recently held regional Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Mehsana, Rajkot. Under which the state government allotted more than 100 exhibition stalls completely free of cost during the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference held at Mehsana and Rajkot. During the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference-Rajkot, three startups jointly raised approximately Rs. 43 crore, which clearly shows the real impact of the initiative.
State-based Agritech startup NEERX has been recognized under Forbes India 30 Under 30-2023. In addition, Torch-IT, a startup that has created a positive impact on the lives of more than one lakh needy people through assistive technology solutions for the disabled, has won a national award. Similarly, WeHear Innovations, a health-tech startup that is pioneering hearing and audio solutions that are beneficial to ear health and has global recognition, reaffirms its firm commitment to promoting innovation, empowering entrepreneurs and building a strong, inclusive and globally competitive startup ecosystem.
