IIM-A’s CIIE, TiE and Viridian Group join hands to invest in Ahmedabad startups
TiE Ahmedabad President, Neha Sheth says, "Ahmedabad's startup ecosystem requires a platform which TiE & CIIE are jointly providing.
By Vishal Dutta, ET Bureau | Updated:
AHMEDABAD: IIM Ahmedabad’s technology business incubator, Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) , The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Ahmedabad and the Viridian Group have joined hands to bring forward investment-ready startups for Ahmedabad’s investors looking to diversify their portfolio. On June 25, these startups will pitch to the panel of investors at CIIE-IIMA.
TiE Ahmedabad President, Neha Sheth says, "Ahmedabad's startup ecosystem requires a platform which TiE & CIIE are jointly providing. Such startup showcase initiatives will create a lot of value and synergy for the startups as well as the investors looking for good startups".
Ahmedabad has been identified as one of the five upcoming startup hub by NASSCOM Startup Landscape Report 2014. Khushalee Vakil, Senior Manager at CIIE, says, “CIIE has always had a Pan India focus but with the kind of startup activity Gujarat has seen in the last 2-3 years, we feel that our startups have come of age and deserve dedicated focus. We have launched a Gujarat-focused accelerator in collaboration with SAP, for which applications open next month. There is no reason why the next Flipkart shouldn’t come from Gujarat”.
This is seen as a welcome move by many of Ahmedabad’s young entrepreneurs. Ritam, founder of the Ahmedabad-based location startup wWhere, which recently raised Rs. 1.2 crore from international investors, sees a lot of potential for local investment activity. “I think local investors play a very important role in creating an ecosystem in a region. For a startup, it is very important that their early investors have an understanding of their day-to-day operations. This can only happen when a local investor champions a local startup. Also, a local investor understands the local market, bringing both credibility and connections- which are highly valuable to nascent ventures.”
Investing in startups requires a forward-thinking mindset and some investors in the city have made that leap of faith. Darshan Jani, Angel Investor and Founding Partner at Amditree, sums it up and says, "It feels great to be a part of this ecosystem, and to be able to create opportunities for startups".
TiE Ahmedabad President, Neha Sheth says, "Ahmedabad's startup ecosystem requires a platform which TiE & CIIE are jointly providing. Such startup showcase initiatives will create a lot of value and synergy for the startups as well as the investors looking for good startups".
Ahmedabad has been identified as one of the five upcoming startup hub by NASSCOM Startup Landscape Report 2014. Khushalee Vakil, Senior Manager at CIIE, says, “CIIE has always had a Pan India focus but with the kind of startup activity Gujarat has seen in the last 2-3 years, we feel that our startups have come of age and deserve dedicated focus. We have launched a Gujarat-focused accelerator in collaboration with SAP, for which applications open next month. There is no reason why the next Flipkart shouldn’t come from Gujarat”.
This is seen as a welcome move by many of Ahmedabad’s young entrepreneurs. Ritam, founder of the Ahmedabad-based location startup wWhere, which recently raised Rs. 1.2 crore from international investors, sees a lot of potential for local investment activity. “I think local investors play a very important role in creating an ecosystem in a region. For a startup, it is very important that their early investors have an understanding of their day-to-day operations. This can only happen when a local investor champions a local startup. Also, a local investor understands the local market, bringing both credibility and connections- which are highly valuable to nascent ventures.”
Investing in startups requires a forward-thinking mindset and some investors in the city have made that leap of faith. Darshan Jani, Angel Investor and Founding Partner at Amditree, sums it up and says, "It feels great to be a part of this ecosystem, and to be able to create opportunities for startups".
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Text: Ishani Duttagupta, ET Bureau
You know that India is in the midst of a startup boom when a motley bunch of foreign entrepreneurs (and non-resident Indians) band together to form an Expat Entrepreneurs Circle (EEC) for, amongst other reasons, to lean on each other in their quest to get a business going in an alien country.
EEC was born some three years back in — where else — Bengaluru to provide a platform for exchanging business ideas, access to information and resources, networking opportunities and training from those who’ve met with reasonable success in India’s startup ecosystem.
You know that India is in the midst of a startup boom when a motley bunch of foreign entrepreneurs (and non-resident Indians) band together to form an Expat Entrepreneurs Circle (EEC) for, amongst other reasons, to lean on each other in their quest to get a business going in an alien country.
EEC was born some three years back in — where else — Bengaluru to provide a platform for exchanging business ideas, access to information and resources, networking opportunities and training from those who’ve met with reasonable success in India’s startup ecosystem.
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