Discussion with London & Partners

on 18th July 2024

We are thrilled to share glimpses from an enlightening discussion with London and Partners, the Mayor of London’s economic development agency, organized by CrAdLE and held at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) in Ahmedabad on July 18th, 2024. The event, featuring esteemed guests Hemin Bharucha, Regional Director for India and the Middle East, and Burzin Luth, Vice President of India, focused on key sectors such as Fintech & Cyber, Enterprise Tech, Creative Industries, Sustainability, Life Sciences, and Healthcare. Startups had the unique opportunity to learn how London can accelerate their growth and global expansion, receiving valuable advice on setting up in London and opening a UK bank account.

Session for ITEC Participants and CrAdLE Visit

on 06th February 2023

CrAdLE team held a session with 30+ ITEC Program Participants from 14+ countries where we shared about CrAdLE, its initiatives and programs to support startups, and examples of how CrAdLE’s support has helped startups succeed. Participants also learned about CrAdLE’s efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, CrAdLE incubated startups working in this sector and how their innovations combined with their zeal and determination is revolutionizing the agricultural sector. The participants also took a tour of the vibrant CrAdLE space and interacted with incubated startups, learning about their innovations and how they are helping in solving critical problems of our society.

Interaction with ITEC Participants

on 03rd February 2023

CrAdLE organized an interaction session with 20+ ITEC Program Participants from Bhutan where Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE shared about the growth of the startup ecosystem in India, the current stage, and the key challenges. The participants learned about the initiatives and programs of CrAdLE through which we not only support startups, but engage with all the stakeholders for the holistic growth and development of the startup ecosystem. They also explored new ways for international collaborations through which inclusive and equitable growth of the global entrepreneurship ecosystem can be achieved.

ITI College Principals Visit at CrAdLE

on 02nd February 2023

Participants of EDII’s Faculty Development Program (FDP), 10+ ITI college principals from across the state of Bihar visited CrAdLE and interacted with Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE where they learned more about CrAdLE’s initiatives and programs, how CrAdLE engages in the ecosystem with various activities and collaborations, and how to start, manage and grow an incubation center. They also took a tour of the vibrant CrAdLE space during which they interacted with CrAdLE incubated startups and learned about their businesses, innovations, and challenges.

Startup Session on the Importance of Social Media

on 25th January 2023

CrAdLE organized a regular monthly meeting with 10+ startups in our Physical Incubation/Acceleration Program where we discussed about the importance of social media and digital marketing in the age of the internet and how we can work together to set and achieve digital marketing goals. Dr. Sharma also reviewed each startup’s social media presence and provided personalized feedback and guidance on the right strategies for their growth.

Annual Startup Summit 2023 – Empresario

16th January 2023 – 17th January 2023

CrAdLE-EDII organized the annual flagship event EMPRESARIO on the 16th & 17th of January 2023. EMPRESARIO is an exclusive platform for all the startup ecosystem stakeholders including entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, industry leaders, and investors to come together and celebrate the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. The chief guest of this event was Shri Harsh Sanghvi—Hon’ble Minister of State for Home, Industries | Transport, Youth, Sports (Government of Gujarat). He inaugurated the event and the startup exhibition, awarded and congratulated the winners of startup awards, visited startup stalls, and interacted with them about their ground-breaking products and innovations.

Industry leaders like Mr. Lou van Noorden—Senior Expert, PUM Netherlands, and Mr. Mihir Joshi—President, GVFL, delivered key sessions on topics like Virtual Management Systems (VMS), valuation, startup sustainability, and more. Participants also received the opportunity to learn from the stories and valuable insights from successful entrepreneurs and industry experts during panel discussions and a fireside chat with eChai Ventures. In The Big Pitch, 40+ startups pitched their innovative businesses and products to investors and 15+ startups have been shortlisted for the second round of pitching. 1000+ participants including students, startups, ecosystem enablers, industry leaders, and government officials from 14+ countries participated in the celebration of this glorious event.

Practice Pitching Session for The Big Pitch

on 11th January 2023

CrAdLE organized a practice pitching session to prepare startups for The Big Pitch in Empresario 2023. 10+ CrAdLE incubated startups pitched their business to Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE and recieved valuable feedback on how to improve their pitch deck and pitch delivery, and how to answer questions of the investors. This session provided an opportunity for statups to practice and improve their presentation and to build necessary confidence before The Big Pitch.

Digital Innovation Alliance, a G20 India Initiative

on 07th January 2023

At Digital Innovation Alliance, a G20 India initiative, organized by Dholakia Ventures, in collaboration with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), our CEO, Dr. Neha Sharma, represented CrAdLE – EDII and during the panel discussion on “Digital Innovation For One India”, she shared her views with 1000+ participants on how we can create effective, scalable and sustainable digital solutions for betterment of economies and upliftment of societies along with panel members like Shri H. K. Mittal, M. S. Rao, Jeet Vijay, Padmaja Ruparel, Kamal Bansal, Dhruv Nath, and Dr. U.T. Rao.

A Session on Entrepreneurial Traits

on 23rd December 2022

Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE, interacted with CrAdLE incubated startups and discussed about the key challenges faced by them, their solutions, how CrAdLE can support in overcoming these challenges, and how CrAdLE incubated startups can explore opportunities of internal collaboration to help solve the problems of one another. Dr. Sharma also delivered a session on what are the key traits of a successful entrepreneur, their importance in startups growth journey, and how entrepreneurs can develop these traits with the right mindset and support,

University Students Interaction at CrAdLE

on 23rd December 2022

60+ students from Rai University visited CrAdLE where we discussed about why and how they can consider entrepreneurship as a viable career choice. We also talked about entrepreneurship ecosystem, funding availabilities and CrAdLE’s Pre-Incubation Program, a program specifically launched to provide the necessary help and support to student entrepreneurs.

Interaction with ITEC Participants from Bhutan

on 23rd December 2022

Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE, took a session for 25+ ITEC Participants where she talked about the intiitatives taken by CrAdLE to help startups identify the opportunities in international markets, how to assess the right market for their product, and how to establish critical partnerships to succeed in international markets. She also discussed about the similarities in the mindset of the entrepreneurs in India and Bhutan, and how the markets and entrepreneurs of both the countries are well suited for international expansion of their startups in collaboration with one another.

Meeting & Interaction with Ms. Angele Kedaitiene at CrAdLE

on 22nd December 2022

Ms. Angele Kedaitiene, Advisor on EU affairs/Horizon Europe Smart Continent visited CrAdLE. In the interaction with Dr. Neha Sharma, CEO, CrAdLE, Dr. Sharma shared about the programs and initiatives taken by CrAdLE to nurture and grow entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. They further discussed about the startup ecosystem in India and Europe, key challenges and opportunities, and explored new ways to synergize to develop the global startup ecocsystem. Dr. Sharma also gave Ms. Kedaitiene a tour of the vibrant CrAdLE space where she interacted with CrAdLE incubated startups and learned about their ground-breaking products and innovations and the critical social impact generated through these innovations.

Mr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM visited CrAdLE

on 20th December 2022

Mr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM visited CrAdLE and took a tour of the vibrant CrAdLE space. During this tour, we shared about the programs and initiatives taken by CrAdLE to help innovators convert their ideas and products into successful entrepreneurial ventures. We also shared about the types of startups incubated at CrAdLE, their ingenious innovations, and the critical impact that they are creating in the socio-economic sphere of India. It was followed by an interaction between Mr. Vaishnav and CrAdLE incubated startups, where startups showcased their innovations and learned from his valuable feedback, insights and experiences.

CII – IWN Gujarat Annual Summit #SheRise

on 16th December 2022

In association with EDII and CrAdLE, IWN Gujarat Members and IWN secretariat out together #SheRise event, to celebrate the success stories of working women and give them an opportunity to share their expertise and experiences in the sector of entrepreneurship, startups, social enterprises and education. Nishi Jain, founder of VibesGood, a CrAdLE incubated startup, participated as a panel member in the fireside chat. 3 women entrepreneurs of CrAdLE incubated startup were felicitated at this event.

Incubation Management Virtual Training Program (2nd Edition)

01st December 2022 – 04th December 2022

CrAdLE organized the 2nd Edition of Incubation Management Virtual Training Program with an objective to impart key skills necessary to successfully launch, manage and grow an incubation centre among ecosystem enablers. This 4 days program consisted of 14 technical sessions taken by 14 speakers from renowned organizations like AICs, IITs, IIMs, and leading innovation centres across India. The speakers talked about several topics including incubation finances and compliances, CSR, marketing, impact assessment, and, financial sustainability, that delivered key learnings in growing an incubation centre. The program attracted participation of 29 ecosystem enablers from different states of India including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Kerala.

Interaction with the Delegation from DST Philippines

on 01st December 2022

CrAdLE startups exhibited their products in an exhibition organized by Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology Philippines (DOST) at IIM Ahmedabad. CrAdLE startups also received a chance to interact with officials from DST Philippines and other innovators and stakeholders from the ecosystem.

Entrepreneurial Process and Role of CrAdLE

on 28th November 2022

Dr. Neha Sharma—CEO CrAdLE was invited as a guest speaker to an event organized by GLS University to sensitize 100+ students, faculty members and young innovators about startup, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Sharma delivered a session on entrepreneurial process and the support provided by CrAdLE to turn innovators into successful entrepreneurs.

India-Bhutan Startup Engagement

on 24th November 2022

CrAdLE organized an India-Bhutan startup engagement event with an objective to provide networking opportunities to 15 CrAdLE startups and 20+ ITEC program participants which would further pave the path for exploring new business opportunities and collaborations in international markets. The participants shared and learnt about new business ideas, innovative business models, challenges, and opportunities in local and international markets.

Business Model & Startup Interaction

on 24th November 2022

CrAdLE organized a session on Business Model & Startup Interaction where, Dr. Neha Sharma—CEO, CrAdLE, delivered a session on “How to develop your business model”, where CrAdLE startups learnt about the framework of business model development, common pitfalls, and steps to develop a sustainable and scalable business model to take their startup on the path to financial sustainability. It was followed by review of each startup’s progress since the last meeting, key challenges hindering their growth and potential solutions to those challenges. Startups also explored opportunities for internal collaboration through this interaction.

Demo Day

on 18th November 2022

CrAdLE organized Demo Day for startups as a part of Exilio, a flagship event of EDII. 3 CrAdLE incubated startups Axiom Healthcare, NeeRain, and IOTA Design & Innovations Lab pitched their business in front of an investor panel, EDII alumni, and audience. NeeRain was shortlisted for the next pitching round. Startups also explored opportunities for collaboration with EDII Alumni Association.

Business Model Canvas in Hackathon 4.0 at Nirma University

on 12th November 2022

Mr. Dhruv Patel from CrAdLE was invited as a guest speaker to conduct a session on Business Model Canvas as a part of Hackathon 4.0 organized by E Cell – Nirma University. He delivered an insightful session on how to prepare BMC with an idea and shared practical examples to give a hands-on experience.

National Entrepreneurship Day

on 9th November 2022

EDII celebrated the National Entrepreneurship Day along with the school students, startups and new age entrepreneurs. The event started with the tradition of lamp lighting, followed by speeches from our esteemed guests. Another major highlight of this event was selection of viable business ideas from participating schools of Ahmedabad. Mr. Abhishek Jain—CEO, Naapbooks, a graduated startup, previously part of CrAdLE’s Physical Incubation Program (PAP), also shared their journey of how they went from an idea to IPO.

Startup Founders Diwali Meet

on 20th October 2022

CrAdLE organized a Startup Founders Diwali Meet, where Dr. Neha Sharma—CEO, CrAdLE, talked about the importance of incubation support, and how to gain its strategic benefits at CrAdLE. It was followed by startup interaction, some fun activities, and gift distribution to startups on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

Innopreneurs Startup Contest (Season 9)

on 16th October 2022

CrAdLE became the venue partner for the Innopreneurs Startup Contest (Season 9). The event marked the inauguration of the regional pitching round in Gujarat State. It started with introduction about Innopreneur and CrAdLE followed by a closed door pitching where 10+ CrAdLE startups pitched their businesses to the investor panel, of which, 1 startup, IOTA Design & Innovations Lab, was shortlisted for the next pitching round. Startups also explored opportunities of international collaboration.

StartUp-Parv 2022

13th October 2022

Mr. Dhruv Patel from CrAdLE was one of the expert members invited by Monark University in the event “STARTUP- PARV” that took place on 13th October, 2022 to launch the Student Startup and Innovation Policy 2.0 at university level to sensitize the students. Mr. Dhruv delivered a session and sensitized 100+ students about the features and key benefits of SSIP 2.0 policy. He has shared about the importance of entrepreneurship and encouraged students to look at it as a viable career option.

Visit at CrAdLE

on 11th April 2022

SRK Diamonds team visited EDII and CrAdLE on 11th April 2022 to explore the Gujarat Startup Ecosystem. They have interacted with CrAdLE startups and the Team of CrAdLE.

Visit at CrAdLE

on 31st March 2022

Dr. Gholamhossein Hosseinini, Deputy Minister of Cooperative, Labour & Social Welfare and President of Iran Technical and Vocational Training Organization (TVTO), Tehran, Iran & Mr. Abbas Karimi, a vice deputy in ITC IRAN TVTO visited the Center for Advancing and Launching (CrAdLE) on 31st March 2022. They also Interact with our Startups and understands their innovative idea and work.

Storytelling for Startup Success (Session 3)

on 29th March 2022

Center for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) is organized a webinar on Storytelling for Startup Success” (Session 3) where the successful entrepreneur shared their journey, The successful journey shared by Ms. Namrata Diwaker Founder of Rayush Natural Fibers Pvt. Ltd. on 29th March 2022, 3:00 PM onwards

Evergreen Gujarat, Eco-friendly Gujarat

Startups at CrAdLE & EDII had the pleasure of interacting with Shri Bhupendra Patel at the ‘Evergreen Gujarat, Eco-friendly Gujarat’ event, where founders of Vidhyut Vehicle Private Limited and TECSO CHARGE ZONE PRIVATE LIMITE showcased their innovations to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat.

𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐒: 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒

on 8th march 2022

With the consistent developments in the Indian startup ecosystem, more and more women are chasing the entrepreneurial dream and flourishing in their ventures. Honoring International Women’s Day on March 08, 2022, Tuesday, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India & CrAdLE – Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises is organizing an exclusive event, “𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐒: 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒” The event is focused on the opportunities & challenges faced by women-led or women-focused startups in terms of their startup journey, raising capital, and their business strategy. The activities included in the event. – Interactive Sessions on Women in Startups: Opportunities & Challenges – Sharing Startup Journey by Women-led Startups – Startup Pitching to Renowned Women Investors across India for Funding (Online)

Visit at CrAdLE

1st March 2022

Mr. Abbas Karimi, a vice deputy in ITC IRAN TVTO visited the Center for Advancing and Launching (CrAdLE) on 1st March 2022. He also Interacts with our Startups and understands their innovative idea and work.

Achieving Problems Solutions Fit & Product-Market Fit

28th February 2022

EDII & CrAdLE is organizing a session for ” Achieving Problems Solutions Fit & Product-Market Fit ” The speaker of the said session will be Umesh Shrivastava. Dr. Umesh Shrivastava has over 11 years of industrial experience and over five years of teaching experience. He has led a team of skilled technicians related to hydropower projects and switchgear products for Indian Railways.

Storytelling for Startup Success (Session 2)

25th February 2022

Center for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) is going to organized a webinar on “Storytelling for Startup Success” (Session 2) where the successful entrepreneur will share their journey, The successful journey will be shared by Ms. Jiya Rajvanshi Genie food Group on 25th February 2022, 3:00 PM onwards CrAdLE is a technology business incubator, promoted by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) and supported by the NSTEDB, DST, Govt. of India.

Webinar session on Entrepreneurship Skill, Attitude & Behaviour Development

24th February 2022

EDII & CrAdLE is organized a session for ” Webinar session on Entrepreneurship Skill, Attitude & Behaviour Development ” on 24th February 2022 with a perspective to upgrade the innovators, researchers of the institute Innovation cell. The speaker of the said session will be Shri Raman Jee. Raman Jee is a seasoned professional with more than 10 years of work experience. He is currently working with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India as Associate Faculty. He has extensively worked with the MSME sector with a focus on Cluster Development.

ONLINE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR INCUBATION ECO-SYSTEM ENABLERS

31st January to 3rd February 2022

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad successfully organized ” ONLINE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR INCUBATION ECO-SYSTEM ENABLERS ” for the CEOs & Incubation managers across India from 31st January to 3rd February 2022. The event was graced by the presence of Dr. Sunil Shukla Director-General EDII. We CrAdLE-EDII would like to thank all the Speakers which includes Ms. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, Dr. Abha Rishi, Mr. Chintan Bakshi, Mr. Rahul Patel, Mr. Sharukh Taraporewala, Ms. Priyanka Sharma, Mr. Yashwant Dev Panwar, Mr. Yamini Bhushan Pandey, Mr. Hardik Maniar, Mr. Ashutosh Mayank, Mr. Prajakt Raut, Ms. Nemessisa Ujjain Dr. subhrangsu Sanyal, Dr. A. balachandran, Dr. R M P Jawahar, Mr. H.K.Mittal

Storytelling for Startup Success

on 27th January 2022

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad organized WEBINAR on “Storytelling for Startup Success” by Mr. Pratik Kumar, Beebase Founder.

Start-up Award Ceremony

on 4th of December 2021

EDII and CrAdLE Team Organised Start-up Award Ceremony on the 4th of December, where they have received more than 120 nominations from start-ups all across the state of Gujarat. They shortlisted 12 start-ups for the final screening by Evaluation Committee & out of that five start-ups were felicitated by award into three categories. In the Best Emerging Startup category, they awarded 2 start-ups called OmniBRx Biotechnologies Pvt Ltd, & All That Dips Pvt Ltd. In the Best Growing Startup category, they awarded 2 start-ups called Mouldies Infotech LLP & Pivoting Softwares Pvt Ltd (Brand Name – Clientjoy), In the Special Jury Award category they awarded Rayush Natural Fibers Pvt. Ltd. By Shri Narayan Tatu Rane, Hon’ble Union Minister of MSME.

Organized event – IDEATHON as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 

on 24th September 2021

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad organized a physical event IDEATHON as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 24th September 2021. In this event, students of EDII Ahmedabad pitch their idea in front of the experts in 120 seconds. These events gave a platform to students to pitch their ideas and prepare themselves for future pitching sessions. .

ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN ON THE FIELD

on 24th September 2021

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad organized a physical event on ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN ON THE FIELD as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 24th September 2021. In this event, Ms. Geeta Barad is alumni of EDII Ahmedabad and Director of Unipads India shared her journey and motivate students to become an entrepreneur. Unipads India is social business of manufacturing and supplying reusable sanitary pads globally with the aim of improving quality of life.

IPO Listing Ceremony of Naapbook Ltd.

on  15th September 2021

CrAdLE incubated startup, Naapbooks Limited. got listed on September 15, 2021 at 10:00 AM in the BSE startup platform after getting oversubscribed by 1.5 times. Shri Ranjeeth Kumar J, IAS, Commissioner, MSME, Gujarat was invited as Guest of Honor for the Listing Ceremony of the company. Mr. Ajay Thakur, Head, BSE SME & Startups, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII, CA Vikash Jain, Partner, VCAN & Co Chartered Accountants and Mr. Ashish Jain, CEO, Naapbooks Limited celebrated the moment with the team of Naapbooks, CrAdLE & EDII.

WEBINAR on HDFC Bank SmartUp – A Smart Solution for StartUps

on 8th September 2021

EDII & CrAdLE in association with HDFC Bank organized a WEBINAR on HDFC Bank Smart Up – A Smart Solution for Startups by Mr. Parthiv Gandhi, Startup Evangelist, HDFC Bank. SmartUp assist in achieving the start-up goals with smart financial tools, smart advisory services, and technology. EDII is a startup partner for the HDFC Bank SmartUp Program

CrAdLE VISIT – Government Commerce College, Ahmedabad

on 3^rd September 2021

A visit from Government Commerce College, Naroda, Ahmedabad was arranged for the students at the Center for Advancing and Launching (CrAdLE) on 3^rd September 2021, where students learned about the Startup & Incubation Ecosystem, Various Startup Schemes of Gujarat Government & Idea Pitching. Students were given the opportunity to pitch their idea and incubate themselves at CrAdLE.

Webinar on – “IDEA GENERATION & VALIDATION”

on 10th of August 2021.

Webinar on – ONLY 10% OF STARTUPS SUCCEED, LEARN THE TRAITS TO BE ONE OF THEM

on 31st of July 2021.

Webinar on – Opportunities for startups in Indian ecosystem and approach to develop sustainable startups

on 8th July 2021

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad & Strinovation Foundation jointly organized a Webinar on ” Opportunities for startups in Indian ecosystem and approach to develop sustainable startups” on 8th of July 2021. The objective of the webinar was to increase women entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem. Speaker Mr. Sunil Kumar, CEO- CrAdLE has explained that presently we have only about 6% women led start-ups however central and state govt. has started lot of initiative to support women entrepreneurs which includes financial support, seed support, mentoring support etc. Mr. Kumar has also explained that selection of right ideas and its validation is most important milestone of startup journey as 56% startup fails due to lack of product-market fitment issue. He has also emphasized that Entrepreneur should select idea which is in line with their skill set and in alignment with their passion which will not only success rate but will also help in making the start up sustainable. He has explained the common mistakes entrepreneur do in their entrepreneur journey and also elaborated the way to keep check on it. The session was moderated by Ms. Tejshree Shah, consultant- icreate, and attended by prospective women entrepreneurs of Gujarat. Ms. Krupa Mehta, Director of Strinovation Foundation has also attended the seminar and presented vote of thanks.  

Webinar on – ” HOW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES WILL IMPROVE THE OFFERING OF STARTUPS AND WILL HELP IN THEIR GROWTH ” – Mr. Sumant Parimal on 24th June 2021

Webinar – Early Stage Startup Funding – Mr. Sanjay Randhar 20th May 2021 Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad successfully organized webinar on “Early Stage Startup Funding” on 20^th May 2021. The session was taken by Mr. Sanjay Randhar, Ex.MD – GVFL who shared his views with early stage startups and helped them towards one step ahead in their startup journey.

Pitch Day Event – 23rd April 2021 Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) – EDII Ahmedabad successfully organized the Startup Pitch Day & GeM workshop in association with the Startup Gujarat Cell – Industries Commisionerate, Government of Gujarat on 23rd April 2021. Total 31 Startups have applied to pitch their ideas, out of which, the expert committee has selected 16 Startups to pitch their ideas to the investors. The event was graced by the presence of Dr. Sunil Shukla Director General EDII, Mr. D.R.Parmar, Joint Commissioner- Industries, Head – Startup cell Gujarat and Mr. Pankaj Tibak – Head FICCI Gujarat State Council. Investors from Bangalore, Delhi, and Ahmedabad have participated in the event, which includes Mr. D.B Rath – Managing Director – GVFL, Mr. Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder & Director- Digital Futurists Angels Network, Mr. Godavarma CK – DFAN Bangalore, Mr. Sanjay Shukla – Cofounder Jumpstart, Ms. Soniya Sadhnani (CIIE.CO), Mr. Pranay Gupta – Co-Founder ( 91springboard ), Mr. Ranbir Singh – IIDEAS – MD, Mr. Paresh Pandya – Multiple Business Investor. They have short-listed the startups of their interest and will start discussions further for investment and support on their mutually agreed terms. Special thanks to and Mr. D. R. Parmar (Joint Commissioner, StartUp Cell, Gujarat) and Mr. Sunil Shukla (Director General – EDII) for their valuable insight during the event. Their message was motivational and will help all the stack holders of the startup ecosystem to organized more such events and strengthen them. We CrAdLE-EDII would like to thanks all the CEOs and officials of TBIs, startups, and other stack holders who have participated in the event. A special thanks to all the officials of startup cell industries commissionerate GoG for their support guidance and encouragement to execute the event successfully.

Celebrated Women’s day at CrAdLE – 8th March 2021 Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE) celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021. The event started at 3:00 PM over a virtual platform where women entrepreneurs shared their start-up journey. We invited aspiring entrepreneurs, students, researchers, startups, Innovators, and ecosystem stakeholders to attend the event.  

Mirchi Startup Express – Idea Chalega to Business Daudega – 5th February 2021 

• CrAdLE-EDII in association with Radio Mirchi has organized one digital event named MIRCHI STARTUP EXPRESS for inviting innovative Startup Ideas from different parts of the State. It gave a platform to people with great business ideas to present their idea to relevant industry experts through us digitally. For this competition, Radio Mirchi (Entertainment Network India Limited) of The Times of India Press has done radio marketing in major cities of Gujarat viz. Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat & Vadodara. As a result, in the first stage of this competition, we received more than 1500+ entries from the interested people and in next stage, more than 175 Innovations have submitted up to 04 minutes Video.
• The Grand Finale has been organized on 5^th February, 2021 at EDII campus. The judge panel chaired by Shri D R Parmar, Joint Industries Commissioner (Startup Gujarat Cell), Government of Gujarat along with Shri Pankaj Tibak, Head – FICCI Gujarat Council, Shri Bithindra Biswas, Business Director – Gujarat & MPCG of Radio Mirchi, Shri Sanjay Randhar, Advisor & Mentor – CrAdLE.
• Total 13 ideas have been presented in the Grand Finale and based on the Innovation, Market Potential and Scalability; top 5 best ideas have been selected by the judges. The winners include Show my parking, Portable Sanitizer Machine, Robofun lab Pvt. Ltd., WASH Toolbox & Befriend+.

Session on Government Funds for Startups – Javid Shaikh 19^th Feb 2021 Mr. Javid Shaikh (Incubation Manager – CrAdLE) delivered a session on “Government Funds for Stratups” at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on 19^th Feb 2021. During the event, he talked on Funding Sources, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), SBIRI, BIPP, TBS-SSS, NSTEDB, NIDHI-SSS, NIDHI-EIR, NIDHI-PRAYAS, SSIP etc.

Session on Customer Acquisition Process – Mr. Sunil Kumar 18^th Feb 2021 Mr. Sunil Kumar (CEO – CrAdLE) delivered a session on “Customer Acquisition Process” at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on 18^th Feb 2021. During the event, he talked on customer Acquisition at Market Place, the Customer Acquisition process offline Sales, The Marketing Funnel, Digital Marketing Strategies, the Customer life cycle, etc.

Panel Member for Amathea’s 11th edition @ IIT Gandhinagar 23rd and 24th January ‘2021

Mr. Javid Shaikh attended annual technical summit Amathea’s 11th edition as panel member for “Engineering Solutions to Emerging Crises” to attract ideas which will help our country to solve some of the technological problems.  ICon event provides a platform for young innovators to showcase their ideas regarding technical solutions to real-life problems in front of experts from Incubation Centers or E-cells of colleges.

CrAdLE exhibited at CII Regional Startup Expo 2020 (A Virtual Exhibition) on CII Hive Platform 27 Oct – 26 Nov 2020

CrAdLE participated in the event as exhibitor showcase the achievements and services offered to startups. RSE2020 is designed as a platform for Start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs from various sectors to showcase their products and solutions to a set of targeted audience comprising of investors, early stage adopters, mentors and potential partners. This platform will also enable the start-ups to connect virtually beyond boundaries, learn the best practices and deliberate on challenges during the current scenario.

CrAdLE as an Outreach Partner for EAD-LSM 2020 organised by IIT Kharagpur November – December 2020 CrAdLE became the Outreach Partner for the event EAD-LSM 2020 organised by IIT Kharagpur. As outreach partner, CrAdLE promoted the event on social media platforms, website and by emailer activity.

CrAdLE as Associate Partner of Parul University for their event I-Storm 5th October 2020 – 7th November 2020

CrAdLE became the Associate Partner for the event I-strom organized by Parul University. As associate partner, CrAdLE promoted the event and provided mentoring services for the selected startup ideas. The main aim of this event is to give a platform to all such young minds and encourage them to continue to innovate and contribute to the ecosystem of innovation.

Radio Mirchi Startup Express – Semi-finale 1st December, 2020

Radio Mirchi Startup Express total 29 ideas have been shortlisted from 175 applications. CrAdLE-EDII in association with Radio Mirchi has organized one digital event named MIRCHI STARTUP EXPRESS for inviting innovative Startup Ideas from different parts of the State. It will give a platform to people with great business ideas to present their idea to relevant industry experts through us digitally. Once the idea is screened and selected, CrAdLE & EDII will help the idea to come to life by finding the right market for the product/service and investors to nurture the same. In the first stage of this competition, we received more than 1500+ entries from the interested people and are inviting a brief about their innovative Startup idea in a form of video. The shortlisted ideas will be invited for pitching against Industry Professionals, Mentors, Investors, etc.

Webinar Series

August – September 2020

Mr.Mayank Patel session on “Business Plan” at CiiE

8th February, 2020

Mr. Mayank Patel delivered a session on “How to make a Business Plan” during an event on The Right capital for Your Startup at CiiE in association with Headstartup and TiE.

Netherlands Busines Support Experts visit

13th January, 2020

Netherlands Business Support Office (NBSO) visited CrAdLE startups where startups represented their ideas. They gave very useful insights to our startups and also shown interest for further help.

Mr. Mayank Patel session at IIC-LMCP

3rd January, 2020

Mr. Mayank Patel delivered a talk on National innovation and Startup Policy during an event“Innovation Trends and Start-Up Opportunities in Pharma and Healthcare” at Atal Incubation Centre (AIC-LMCP), Student Start-Up Innovation Policy (SSIP) and MHRD-AICTE granted Institute Innovation Centre (IIC-LMCP).

NeerX Technolab Pvt. Ltd. winner at Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2019

14th December, 2019

Neerx Technolab Pvt. Ltd. –  Second Runner Up in the category of Agritech, Ideathon Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2019. Focusing on soil sensing, NeerX designed low-cost sensors that are used by ISRO. They worked with ISRO to jointly develop the technology for these sensors, which they have named as “SHOOL” (Smart Sensor for Hydrology and Land Application). SHOOL simultaneously measures parameters such as complex dielectric permittivity, electrical conductivity, moisture, salinity and temperature when inserted in a medium (soil or IoT-enabled station).

MoU with NESCO Foundation for Innovation and Development (NFID)

12th November, 2019

CrAdLE signed a MoU with NESCO Foundation for Innovation and Development (NFID) under which CrAdLE will provide technical consultancy to NFID for setting up the Business Incubation Centre at Anand, Gujarat.

Startup Awareness Session at NIFTEM

7th November, 2019

Mr. Mayank Patel conducted a session on Startup Ecosystem and Govt. supports to startups at National Institute Of Food Technology Entrepreneurship And Management (NIFTEM).

Panel Member for Amathea’s 10th edition @ IIT Gandhinagar

20th October, 2019

Mr. Jay Joshi attended annual technical summit Amathea’s 10th edition as panel member for Economical and technological solutions to modern-day problems” to attract ideas which will help our country to solve some of the technological problems using economical solutions.

Mr. Mayank Patel interview on VTV about “Startup Funding”

10th October, 2019

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII appeared in an interview on VTV for that startup series “Startup Kitli” where he has given information about various startup funding sources i.e govt. startup promotional grants/schemes, debt funding, seed/angel investors etc.

Startup Funding – 1

Session at a Bootcamp on Startup and Innovation to Promote New India Entreprenuer at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University

21st September, 2019

Mr. Jaykumar Joshi, incubation manager CrAdLE EDII delivered a session on “Incubation Process for startups” at a Bootcamp on Startup and Innovation to Promote New India Entrepreneur at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.

Bigshift Ahmedabad edition  by Inc42 – CrAdLE Ecosystem Partner

20th September, 2019

CrAdLE as ecosystem partner for Ahmedabad edition of Bigshift which was organised by Inc42 where Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE moderated the session – Building A Robust Startup Ecosytem.

The Startup Seminar in association with HDFC Bank

10th September, 2019

CrAdLE organised The Startup Seminar in association with HDFC Bank. Sessions conducted in the seminars were,

• Smartup program offerings and various initiatives driven for Startups – by Ms. Pallavi Parab from HDFC Startup Team
• Startup listing on BSE Platform by – Mr. Dahyalal Prajapati from BSE
• The Journey of Phycolinc Technologies (HDFC CSR Initiative – Parivartan beneficiary startup) – by Mr. Sumeet Mohanty
• Importance of Content Writing for Startups by Mr. Khamir Purohit from Lexiconn
• Accelerating startup growth through strategic advisory services –  by Strategy Garage

An awareness session – National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA) 2019

4th September, 2019

CrAdLE EDII hosted an awareness session on National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA) 2019 in association with Institute of Rural Management Anand. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has instituted the National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA) to recognise and honor outstanding young first generation Entrepreneurs and their Ecosystem Builders for their outstanding contribution in entrepreneurship development.

Millennium Alliance Roadshow 2019 at CrAdLE

23rd August, 2019

CrAdLE facilitated Millennium Alliance Roadshow 2019 for Round 6. The Millennium Alliance (MA) by FICCI calls for applications from social entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions addressing development challenges that will benefit base of the pyramid populations across India and the world.

StudIgnite program a Start-up & an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp at Indrashil University 26^th July, 2019

Mr. Jaykumar Joshi conducted a session as a guest speaker on “Startup in College” at the Start-up & an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp on ‘Creating Entrepreneurial Driven Economy” – Indrashil University. He also moderated the Business Model Canvas activity. Students from various institutes of Kalol, Kadi, Mehsana, Chatral participated in the program.

Millennium Alliance Roadshow 2019 at CrAdLE

23rd August, 2019

CrAdLE facilitated Millennium Alliance Roadshow 2019 for Round 6. The Millennium Alliance (MA) by FICCI calls for applications from social entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions addressing development challenges that will benefit base of the pyramid populations across India and the world.

StudIgnite program a Start-up & an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp at Indrashil University 26^th July, 2019

Mr. Jaykumar Joshi conducted a session as a guest speaker on “Startup in College” at the Start-up & an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp on ‘Creating Entrepreneurial Driven Economy” – Indrashil University. He also moderated the Business Model Canvas activity. Students from various institutes of Kalol, Kadi, Mehsana, Chatral participated in the program.

Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (FNSt) visited CrAdLE

17th July, 2019

Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (FNSt) visited CrAdLE EDII on 17th July,2019 for exploring possibilities of jointly organising projects/activities pertaining to startups. Mr. Frank Hoffman – Interim Head, Regional office FNSt, Ms. Nupur Hasija, Sr. Programme Manager, FNSt, Ms. Angelica Zocchi – FNSt, Mr. Vinod Juneja – VP SAARC CCI FICCI and Mr. Imran Ali – SAARC CCI visited EDII and had a meeting with EDII faculty members. They also visited CrAdLE startup and discussed about their innovation, business growth.

Vardhman Envirotec Awarded as Green Enterprise 2019

30th June, 2019

CrAdLE incubated startup Vardhman Envirotech awarded as Green Enterprise 2019 for providing Sustainable Water Solutions during the most prestigious National Green Mentors Conference 2019 supported by Climate Change Department, Government of Gujarat held at Gandhinagar.

Session on Financial Modelling & Unit Economics by Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE at GTU Innovation Council

15th May, 2019

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE conducted a mentoring session on Financial Modelling & Unit Economics at GTU Innovation Council.

Bootcamp, Demoday & Investor Pitch coordinated by CrAdLE as a part of SSIP Annual International Conference 6^th & 7^th June, 2019

EDII as a knowledge & venue partner organised SSIP Annual International Conference for 2 days. Startup Exhibition, Investor Pitch, Bootcamp, Demoday, paper presentation etc. activities were held during the event. Among these activities CrAdLE shortlisted the participants, organised & co-ordinated for bootcamp, investor pitch & demoday. Mr. Mayank Patel was also remained present as Panel Judge for presentations by startups.

Gujarat Incubators Round Table Meeting

10th May, 2019

CrAdLE hosted a roundtable meeting of Gujarat based technology business incubators where representative of iCreate, GTU incubator, IIT Gandhinagar incubation, GNLU, PERD, Anand Agriculture University Incubation Centre, IRMA’s Incubation Centre (ISEED), Adani International Innovation Hub remain presented. Startup mentoring challenges, startup industry connect related issues were discussed in the meeting.

Empresario Startup Summit 2019

29th – 30th March, 2019

Empresario Startup Summit 2019 is the 8th Annual Flagship Event of Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad. It is an exclusive platform for startups, new age entrepreneurs, industry mentors, investors and the student community to come up at one place, explore their entrepreneurial endeavors and experiences, gain amazingly new insights, and pledge to become a valuable part of the ever flourishing startup ecosystem in India. Empresario Startup Summit has always been completely focused on startup related competitions and events that see a huge turnout of Angel Investors, startups and students from pan India, who participate in events like Speaker sessions, Panel discussions, Workshops, Pitching events for startups and competitions. Co-founder and CEO of Surat-based Harikrishna Exports, Savjibhai Dholakia inaugurated the exhibition as a chief guest for the event.

Mr. Mayank Patel – Guest Speaker @ Innocity

23rd March, 2019

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE attended Innocity event as a guest speaker for “Pricing strategy for startups” session. He explained about pricing strategy to different startup. The event was organised by Innocity with eChai at CiiE, Ahmedabad.

Manufacturing Innovative Leader

5th March, 2019

Amit Doshi, founder of Vardhman Envirotech, Among Fifty Manufacturing Innovative Leader, Awarded at World Innovation Congress, Mumbai. The 50 Manufacturing Innovative Leaders at World Innovation Congress Awards is intensely researched process undertaken by the research cell which consists of Post Graduates in History & Management with over 5 years research experience posts their studies.

BIG grant for Biotech Startup awareness session

1st February, 2019

CrAdLE organised a awareness session for Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG). BIG is BIRAC grant which is available to scientist entrepreneurs from research institutes, academia and startups. Successful BIG Innovators receive up to INR 50 lakh for research projects with commercialisation potential with duration of up to 18 months.

Session on Incubation support to Startups – ECell, Vishwakarma Govt. Engg. College 

30th January, 2019

Around 30 students from ECell, Vishwakarma Govt. Engg. College visited CrAdLE. CrAdLE organised a session on “Incubation support by TBIs to starups” for them. They also interacted with one of the startup founder Mr. Sumitabh (HybRed Energy).

Session on Technology Business Incubation with ITEC participant

29th January, 2019

Mr. Jaykumar conducted a session on Technology Business Incubation to ITEC  program participants. He explained Indian Startup Ecosystem, how govt. is supporting startups through various schemes, services offered by TBI to startups. ITEC participants also visited & interacted with CrAdLE startups.

CrAdLE  team & incubated startups interaction with Oklahoma Delegation

21st January, 2019

A five-member Delegation from Oklahoma  University, USA visited India and EDII hosted them in Ahmedabad. During their visit, CrAdLE EDII team & our incubated startups also interacted with them. Mr. Dharmesh Gohil, ARKidzoo founder had a very insightful conversation with them and they also shown great interest in their AR technology based kids learning device.

Meeting with Dr. Avantika Singh Aulakh (IAS), Commissioner of Technical Education Gandhinagar

7th January, 2019

Dr. Avantika Singh Aulakh, Commissioner of Technical Education – Gandhinagar, visited CrAdLE and discussed the incubation activities and facilities provided to the startups. She also interacted with CrAdLE startups and discussed about their problems and challenges they are facing and how the incubators are supporting them. 

Climate Crusader Award

4th January, 2019

Mr. Amit Doshi, Director Vardhman Envirotch received Climate Crusader Award for saving water through Rainwater harvesting Initiative.

FutureTech Meetup 2018

29th December, 2018

TiE Ahmedabad invited Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII as a speaker at the FutureTech Meetup 2018.The FutureTech Meetup 2018 with consisted of discussions about how is the future taking shape in light of increased momentum for technologies like IoT, Fog Computing, Blockchain, Robotics, Drones, Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Voice Assistants, Quantum Computing, What impact do they have on the future of jobs, skills, business and humanity at large, etc…

ASSOCHAM : Entrepreneurs & Startup Summit 2018

14th December, 2018

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII remain presented as one of the panel member for the ASSOCHAM Entrepreneurs & Startup Summit 2018 in Pune.

2nd Round of Mentoring Sessions by Dr. Peter Wierenga, PUM Expert, Netherlands

10th – 15th December, 2018

Exposure visit of Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Parks (STEPs) for delegates from Khartoum state, Sudan

3rd – 6th December, 2018

CrAdLE has organized exposure visit of Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Parks (STEPs) for delegates from Khartoum state, Sudan. The objective of the delegation’s visit is to understand working models and best practices of the STEPs in India. Delegates visited STPI – Hyderabad, Tidel Park – Chennai , and Techno Park – Thiruvananthapuram.

Kajal Gohil – Cofounder of ArKidzoo awarded by emPower 2018 (Women entrepreneur)  22nd November, 2018

Kajal Gohil, Co-founder of ArKidzoo received a Women Entrepreneur emPower 2018 award.

International training program “Developing an Entrepreneurial Ecosytem for Startups” at Israel

18th November – 2nd December, 2018

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE visited Israel for attending an International training program “Developing an Entrepreneurial Ecosytem for Startups”   from 18^th November to 2^nd December. The program had a focused on developing entrepreneurial ecosystem for startups, incubators, accelerators and communities. He also had panel discussions with startup founders and UNDP delegation at SigmaLabs and Network – an organization promoting collaboration within startup ecosystem in Tel Aviv. He also visited

• Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, its technology transfer and incubation centre
• Startup incubators – Terra Labs, Sigma Labs, Jerusalem Venture Partners’ Media Quarter, Viola Ventures, Tel Aviv Municipality Office and Incubator, and Takwin Labs.

Times Network – Leaders of Tomorrow 5th October, 2018

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII, remain presented as the penal member during the Times Network – Leaders of Tomorrow Panel Ahmedabad where panel members gave insights on Ahmedabad’s Evolving Investment Climate, Attracting / Retaining Next Generation Of Talent In Ahmedabad, Opportunities For Growth In Family Owned & Operated SMEs Segment, Ahmedabad’s Blossoming Start-Up Ecosystem and How Technology & Tradition Intersect In Ahmedabad In The Context Of Industry.

Hackathon at ECell, Nirma University 30th September, 2018

MR. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII remained present as a Judge in Startup Hackathon which was organised by E Cell, Nirma University.

Gujarat Govt. Policies for Startups – Session at SSIT, Gandhinagar 17th September, 2018

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE addressed the aspiring students of Shri Swaminarayan  Institute of Technology (SSIT), Gandhinagar during the Session on Gujarat Govt. Policies for Startups.

VGStartup 2018 Awareness Session At Baroda Management Association (BMA), Baroda 31st August, 2018

EDII has organised an Awareness Session – Roadshow at Baroda Management Association (BMA), Baroda as a Knowledge Partner for upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Startup & Technology Summit 2018. 

VGStartup 2018 Awareness Session At BITS Edu Campus, Baroda 31st August, 2018

EDII has organised an Awareness Session – Roadshow at BITS Edu Campus, Baroda as a Knowledge Partner for upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Startup & Technology Summit 2018. 

Seminar on Entrepreneurship Awareness for the NextGen ^{27th august, 2018}

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE addressed the aspiring students of Indrashil University during the Seminar on Entrepreneurship Awareness for the NextGen.

VGStartup 2018 Awareness Session At IRMA, Anand 24th August, 2018

EDII has organised an Awareness Session – Roadshow at IRMA, Anand as a Knowledge Partner for upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Startup & Technology Summit 2018. 

Unit Economics & Startup – Session at Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat ^{20th July, 2018}

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE delivered a lecture on Unit Economics & Startup at Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG).

CrAdLE EDII – Incubation Partner in THE AEONIAN 2018 STARTUP SUMMIT 15th-17th May, 2018

CrAdLE EDII is incubation partner for The AEONIAN 2018 Startup Summit, organising in WTC, Mumbai. CrAdLE startups Hidaa Lifesciences, Callacuppa, Bits&Board Technologies and Incsmart  participated in the event Exhibition.The Aeonian 2018 is a premier annual startup summit that recognizes and rewards the startup community in India.

Ms. Menka Gurnani (D’bello – Hidaa Lifesciences) Awarded by GIS Trend Setter Award ^{17th April, 2018}

Ms. Menka Gurnani, Co-founder Hidaa Lifesciences awarded by Gujarat Innovation Society (GIS) in the category of Trend Setter on 17th April, 2018 at organization’s 7th foundation day ceremony. The event was graced by Honourable Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani.

Session on “Venture Capital Fund – An Introduction” 27th March, 2018

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO-CrAdLE conducted a session on “Venture Capital – an Introduction” at United World School of Business where he explained the formation of Venture Capital Fund, their investment criteria and return expectation from startups.

Empresario Startup Summit ^{10th – 11th March, 2018}

Empresario Startup Summit is the annual flagship event organized by CrAdLE EDII. The event has been inaugurated by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri. Suresh Prabhu. Mr. Prabhu laid the foundation stone for MSME Research Block and launched ‘Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) India Report 2016-17’ at EDII. He also launched a book on successful EDII alumni. In his speech, Prabhu said that start-ups must identify gaps in the system and build business models around them.

“Entrepreneurs must focus on the possibility of doing extraordinary things,” said Prabhu at EDII. “Pro-industry policies, numerous funding options, and incubation support are gradually boosting India’s potential to become an entrepreneurial nation.” Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan attended the Seventh Empresario startup Summit. The Summit has mentored over 1,200 budding entrepreneurs in the last seven years, said Dr. Sunil Shukla, Chairman CrAdLE and Director, EDII. The two-day Empresario was a platform for startups, industry mentors, investors and the student community, providing prototype funding to selected ideas.

The current edition of Empresario, CrAdLE EDII’s annual flagship event, focused on the theme of “Escalating the growth of startup ecosystem” and seen participation of 110-odd startups for pitching to investors, 183 ideas at prototype development stage and 140 early concept stage students from Gujarat and neighboring states.

Since its inception in 2012, Empresario has emerged as a leading entrepreneurship festival in India that brings together startups of all sectors and participants from every niche of the country. Last year, out of 100 startups that pitched at the Empresario Start-Up Summit, three were incubated at CrAdLE EDII and bagged funding of Rs 1.16 crore from YES bank. Some of the ideas, however raw, are innovative and solutions-oriented. To encourage them, Empresario also provides prototype funding of Rs. 40,000 per startup, said Dr. Shukla.

Schemopedia.com – received NASSCOM Social Innovation Award 2018 for ICT led Innovation on Social Issues

The largest Social Innovation Honours in India, NSIF received over 1900 applications this year out of which, the 10 final winners were chosen after going through a rigorous selection process in the categories of Education, Accessibility, Healthcare, Financial Inclusion, Environment and other socially relevant areas. The winners were felicitated by K.T.Rama Rao, Cabinet Minister for IT E&C, Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Padma Shri B.V.R. Mohan Reddy (Former Chairman of NASSCOM) & Shrikant Sinha, CEO NASSCOM Foundation in an event organized by The World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2018 : The Olympics of the global ICT Industry) & NASSCOM on 21ST February 2018 in Hyderabad. The jury that selected the winners comprised of many renowned industry stalwarts including Debjani Ghosh, President Designate, NASSCOM; Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network; Srikanth Karra, CHRO, Mphasis, P. Balaji, Director-­‐Regulatory, External Affairs and CSR, Vodafone India, and Deepak Maheshwari, Director -­‐ Government Affairs, India & ASEAN, Symantec.

Visit of Dr. Peter Wierenga, Expert – Innovation & Incubation, Netherlands ^{29th January – 9th February, 2018}

CrAdLE hosted Dr. Peter Wierenga, an expert in innovation and incubation from the Netherlands for two weeks. He provided intense mentoring to 10 startups and guided them on prototype development, strategic planning, market development and intellectual property. He also conducted interactive session at IIT, Gandhinagar, iCreate, EDII and GTU Innovation Council.

FLCTD meeting in association with UNIDO and CII ^12th December, 2017

Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE), the Technology Business Incubator, hosted by Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad under the aegis of NSTEDB, DST, Govt. of India, New Delhi has organized an awareness program in association with CII & UNIDO for promoting Innovation and Deployment of Low Carbon Technologies on December 12, 2017. UNIDO in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is implementing a Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported project to establish a Facility for Low Carbon Technology Deployment (FLCTD). Under this project, annual innovation challenges covering 3 thematic areas: Waste Heat Recovery, Space Conditioning and Pumps will be conducted. CrAdLE incubated startups & innovators participated in the event and were addressed by Mr. S B Sareen – Director CrAdLE, Mr. Sandip Tandon, National Project Manager-UNIDO, Ms. Reshmi Vasudavan & Mr. Rishabh from UNIDO, Mr. Jasbir & Ms. Nisha Jayaram from CII. CrAdLE offers services in diverse sectors including Renewable Energy (Clean and Green) along with Manufacturing, Food/Agri-businesses and Healthcare will be actively involved in  promoting this program among the various stakeholders.

Zero To One: Starting Up To Seed Session in BIGShift Agenda ^24th November, 2017

Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO CrAdLE EDII, has taken a session on Zero to One : Starting Up To Seed in BIGShift Agenda held at CiiE IIM Ahmedabad. Mr. Patel addressed the key challenges startups face and ways overcome those, basics of building the initial team to finding right co-founders, mentors and support systems.

Business Opportunities in Textile & Rubber Industry ^9th November, 2017

On a National Entrepreneurship Day, CrAdLE EDII has organized a session on Business Opportunities in Textile & Rubber Industry. Dr. Harish Bisht, Director ATIRA & Mr. C R Prayag, Dept. Director ATIRA were  guest speakers, who have discussed various new & innovative technologies available in Textile industry which open so many new opportunities in this sector. Mr. Atul Shah, Founder – Pioneer Industry has delivered a lecture on opportunities available in Rubber Industry.

Talent Acquisition & Transformation Session  An exclusive event for Industry Members & Academia 16^th October, 2017

CrAdLE EDII has organized an event on “Talent Acquisition & Transformation Session” in association with IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM (SSC NASSCOM). The event is attended by college VCs/Principals/Directors, HR Managers, Placement Heads, Talent Acquisition Heads & Startup founders. Sector Skill Councils (SSC) creates Occupational Standards and Qualification bodies, develop competency framework, conduct Train the Trainer Programs, conduct skill gap studies and Assess and Certify trainees on the curriculum aligned to National Occupational Standards developed by them. It works with its industry members, select academic and skill development institutions to help improve the quality and quantity of the talent available to this industry in India. The objective of the event is to build skills in individuals to be Industry Ready (Foundation Programs) and Job Ready (Specialized Programs) and to create a talent pipeline of individuals who are trained and certified on job-ready programs.

Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder Infosys Visited CrAdLE 11^th August, 2017

It was a proud moment for CrAdLE EDI when Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder Infosys & Chairman, Advisory Committee, CrAdLE visited CrAdLE along-with other advisory committee members Mr.Harkesh Mittal Adviser, Member Secretary – NSTEDB, DST, GoI, Mr. Satyanarayan B. Dangayach, M D – Sintex Industries Ltd, Gandhinagar, Mr. Kunal Upadhyay,CEO – CiiE IIMA, Prof. T. Harinarayana, DG – GERMI. They met all the incubated Startups and given their valuable suggestions.

BIRAC BIG Scheme Talk in association with Venture Centre  27^th July, 2017

CrAdLE organised Awareness Talk on BIRAC BIG Scheme in association with Venture Center, Pune which is located at NCL Innovation Park, Pune. It is one of India’s leading technology business incubators specializing in technology startups offering products and services exploiting scientific expertise in the areas of materials, chemicals and biological sciences & engineering. Mr. Roshan Yedery, Manager – Innovation Management of Venture Center visited CrAdLE to deliver talk on Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) Scheme introduced by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) set up by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Around 20 startups, scientist entrepreneurs, research scholar and students attended the three-hour talk. Under the scheme, eligible startups will get funding support of Rs, 50 lakhs as grants for developing Proof of Concept (POC) for the idea. Two Incubatees of CrAdLE who are from Bio-Technology background, Hidda Lifesciences and Phycolinc Pvt. Ltd. have shown interest in the scheme and had one-on-one meeting with Mr. Yedery, the next day. They are in the process of applying for BIG grants.

DEMO DAY in association with eChai, Ahmedabad 20^th July, 2017

CrAdLE organised DEMO DAY in association with eChai, where 10 Startups showcased their business idea & journey as an entrepreneur. eChai Ventures conceptualizes and organizes engaging entrepreneurial programs to help fellow entrepreneurs connect, share and collaborate. eChai has around 1500 budding entrepreneur members with presence in 20 cities across country. 10 startups from eChai and 2 from CrAdle presented their ideas, struggles of initial days, current scenario of their business field and had interactive session with PGDM-BE students of EDII. Around sixty students attended the event which lasted for 2 hours.

Startup Weekend – Surat 14^th to 16^th July, 2017

CrAdLE associated with Startup weekend Surat as Ecosystem Partner for Idea to Prototype in 54 hours during 14th – 16th July, 2017. Around 70 students/startups participated in the event to work on innovative ideas and to develop Proof of Concept (POC) in 54 hours. 15 teams were formed to work upon the ideas and CrAdLE offered incubation support to the top three teams free-of-cost.

CrAdLE associates with ChaturIdeas   3^rd July, 2017 CrAdLE has associated with ChaturIdeas as Ecosystem Partner for promotion of the BeAChatur Contest. Chatur Ideas is the inception of first ever dynamic, multifarious online platform, which will engage, counsel, and interconnect the entrepreneurial breed of India to investors, financers, and mentors. BeAChatur Contest is a 4-month intensive business plan competition. CrAdLE has sensitized around 165 startups for the BeAChatur contest as an outreach partner.

Presentations for Govt. of Gujarat Startup/innovation Scheme March & June, 2017

CrAdLE organized screening of Startups for ensuring grant to them under the Startups/Innovation Scheme by Gujarat Govt. 30 Startups from various domains presented their ideas to the Screening Committee. Out of 30 startups, the screening committee recommended 15 startups for further process to Government of Gujarat. Out of 15 startups, 7 have been awarded grants for Prototype/Market development.

Visit of GVFL and NEDFI Mr.  Sanjay Randher, Managing Director of GVFL, Managing Director of North East Development Finance Corporation, and Mr. Zaveer Zaman from North East Venture Fund visited CrAdLE in June. The officials interacted with Incubated startups to understand their ideas, business and potential market to get associated with them. GVFL has also shown interest in three startups for funding and currently they are reviewing their proposal.

CrAdLE and YES Bank association and Visit 9^th June, 2017

CrAdLE – EDII joined hand with private sector lender YES Bank, to finance incubated startups. In first such initiative, YES Bank provided a loan of Rs. 50 lakhs to one of the incubatee- Green Ideology, under the CGTSME scheme. YES Bank also interacted with all the Incubatees of CrAdLE for funding under various Government Schemes. YES Bank is reviewing proposals of five Incubatees for further financing.

Startup Weekend – Ahmedabad 26^th – 28^th May, 2017

CrAdLE associated with Startup Weekend Ahmedabad as Ecosystem Partner for idea to prototype in a 54 hour event from 26^th to 28^th May, 2017. Around 72 candidates had participated in the event to work on innovative ideas and to develop a proof of concept in 54 hours. They formed ten groups for developing prototype in 54 hours. CrAdLE team mentored participants during the event.

Empresario 2017

Empresario is the annual flagship event in Entrepreneurship organized by the students of Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad and financially supported by CrAdLE. It is an exclusive platform for startups, new age entrepreneurs, industry mentors, investors and the student community to come together, present their entrepreneurial endeavors and experiences, gain new insights, and pledge to become a valuable part of the ever flourishing startup ecosystem in India. Empresario has emerged as one of the largest entrepreneurship fests celebrated in India. The fest witnesses’ startups from varied sectors and participants from many states of the country. During two days of the event, 14 sessions on startup entrepreneurship were organized, 40 speakers shared their ideas, 50 startups exhibited their ideas and more than 700 entrepreneurs participated.

CrAdLE Inauguration 2^nd December, 2016

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India inaugurated its Technology Business Incubator, CrAdLE – Centre for Advancing & Launching Enterprises. Mr. Kishor Kharat, President of EDII and M D & CEO, IDBI inaugurated the Centre. The objective of CrAdLE is to forward the causes of startups in achieving significant milestones on their journey of growth. It is catalyzed and supported by NSTEDB, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.