7th edition of NBEC kicked off by C-CAMP
NBEC, India’s largest and the most prestigious national competition for bio entrepreneurs, a flagship event of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, has kicked off its 7th edition. NBEC aims to attract, identify and nurture deep science driven business ideas that address India’s most pressing societal challenges in new, innovative, and commercially viable ways. NBEC 2024 has in store 15 Cr INR in cash prizes and investment opportunities for winners, making it one of the biggest and most high-stakes platforms, in India’s bio startup domain.
Mumbai, Mar 05: NBEC, India’s largest and the most prestigious national competition for bio entrepreneurs, a flagship event of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, has kicked off its 7th edition. NBEC aims to attract, identify and nurture deep science driven business ideas that address India’s most pressing societal challenges in new, innovative, and commercially viable ways. NBEC 2024 has in store 15 Cr INR in cash prizes and investment opportunities for winners, making it one of the biggest and most high-stakes platforms, in India’s bio startup domain.
The competition was launched formally on March, 01 by opening call for applications.
NBEC in the last six editions has created a steady pipeline of innovative technologies with demonstrated commercial potential, that address India’s most formidable challenges in healthcare, agriculture and environment. This is a cohort of 200+ expert-vetted and hand-picked business ideas spanning all sub-domains of Life Sciences, with special focus on high-impact areas like digital health, maternal & child health, antimicrobial resistance, water and sanitation, green chemistry, and personal care.
With approximately 15,000 applications received from 35 States & UTs in the past 6 editions, NBEC has established itself not only as India’s biggest innovation showcase but also as a unique platform that has broken the oft-mentioned issue of metro-based innovation silos in India’s biotech landscape and unlocked the potential of science-led entrepreneurship among Tier II, Tier III cities.
C-CAMP Director-CEO Dr Taslimarif Saiyed said, “NBEC over the years has seen a true amplification of bio entrepreneurship in India. It has touched almost all states & UTs in India and built a strong pipeline of deep-science based innovations that have impact potential not only in society but also from the investor standpoint.”
Dr Rajesh S Gokhale, Secretary, DBT, Ministry of Science & Technology, GoI welcomed the announcement of NBEC #7 saying, “NBEC serves as a launchpad for aspiring entrepreneurs, with C-CAMP playing a crucial role in their success story. Congratulations on reaching the 7th edition, may it be a celebration of innovation and prosperity.”
Dr Jitendra Kumar, MD, BIRAC, a NBEC partner for 6 years said, “NBEC has emerged as one of the unique initiatives for showcasing the innovative potential of biotech startups in the country. This year's edition continues the legacy with a broader base of startups and bringing together the investors, corporates and other ecosystem players on a great platform.”
Some of the biggest names in Indian biotech arena have been associated with NBEC since its inception in 2017, such as Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Emeritus Professor, Former Director, NCBS and Former Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI, who underlined the importance of platforms like NBEC in the bio innovation arena. “Congratulations to C-CAMP on launching the 7th edition of the National Bio-Entrepreneurship Competition (NBEC). Over the years C-CAMP has become well-known as one of leading entrepreneurship hubs and the NBEC has grown from strength to strength. Such events greatly stimulate and help the entrepreneurial community to take on and solve important challenges.”
Dr. Renu Swarup, Former Secretary, DBT, Ministry of Science & Technology, GoI, said “This is an excellent initiative to nurture the deep tech science based bio entrepreneurial ecosystem. The opportunity to showcase their innovative ideas to investors and industry leaders is unique and this facilitates science ideas to be converted to enterprises.”
Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon referred to the immense opportunity that lies in biotech for entrepreneurs, remarking that “Biology is driving a new frontier in entrepreneurial innovation. From MedTech to Synthetic Biology; from Computational Omics to Immunology; from Bio-energy to smart foods, Biotechnology is transforming the way we predict, diagnose and personalise health, build sustainable solutions and address the myriad of challenges that threaten our planet. Indian entrepreneurs have limitless possibilities to play in this vast kaleidoscope of entrepreneurship.”
