BIC 2023: A game-changer for Bihar’s startup ecosystem
With total 211 team members participating from 20 different States and total 209 stalls setup during the event, the BIC was a testament to Bihar's growing commitment to innovation
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The Bihar Innovation Challenge 2023 (BIC), a two-day event held on October 4-5, 2023, at Gyan Bhawan Patna, was a resounding success, bringing together visionary entrepreneurs, forward-thinking startups, industry experts, founder and co-founders of renowned startups and government officials.
With total 211 team members participating in the event from 20 different States and total 209 stalls setup during the event, the BIC was a testament to Bihar's growing commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship.
The event was supported by Startup India, NASSCOM, TiE Pune, Wadhwani Foundation, PayTm, IIM- Kolkata, T- Hub, US Consulate General, Idex, etc. and received applications from students, innovators, startups and research scholars from all over India in areas including robotics and drones, agri-tech and allied sectors, med-tech/ bio-tech, heritage, culture and tourism, clean and green environment, fin-tech and edu-tech.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade was the guest of honour. Sandeep Poundrik, Additional Chief Secretary delivered a speech on startup ecosystem and also visited stalls of startups which has come from different states. Director of Industry delivered a presentation on Startup Bihar and its innovations. Melinda Pavek, US Consul General talked about innovation and entrepreneurship via online mode. An MoU was reached with different incubation centres of premier institutes on the occasion, including Wadhwani Foundation and Paytm for building a supportive startup ecosystem in Bihar.
200 school students from Tribhuvan School, Mount Litera Zee School, Radiant International and School of creative learning attended the workshop named as joy of making which was conducted by center for creative learning IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Session on foundations of a robust startup ecosystem was moderated by Sumit Srivastawa (Founder and CEO Startup Chaupal) where panel discussion was done with academic and ecosystem partners like (IIT Patna (Joseph Paul Arackalan), CIMP (Dr Rana Singh), NASSCOM (Sn Director Kritika Murugesan), Wadhwani Foundation (Sanjay Sha, COO) and Tie Pune (Dr Pratim Sheorey). The other session was with Shivangi Jain (Sn AVP Startup India) and Sanjay Sha (COO Wadhwani Foundation).
Different interactive session on different time were conducted by different renowned founders and co-founders of startups like Kritika Murugesan (Sr Director, NASSCOM), Giridhar GM (Chief – Online Product, NPCI), Shashank Kumar (CEO & Co-founder of Dehaat – a Bihar based company), Rahul Agarwal (CFO of Expressbees) and lastly but not least Shraddha Sharma (CEO and Founder of Your Story).
Talking to Bizz Buzz, Bihar Industries Minister Samir Kumar Mahaseth, said, “Bihar is moving at a rapid pace on the path of development with tireless efforts to strengthen infrastructure and to promote industrial development. I have got the opportunity to encourage innovation and economic development in Bihar.”
“Bihar has made great progress in the sector of startups in recent years. We believe that startups are the driving force behind economic progress, and I am committed to provide you with the resources and support that you need to thrive, he said.”
“Our state is brimming with talent, culture, and possibilities. I urge you to take advantage of this chance to benefit your business as well as the state's economy. Your inventions, whether in technology, agriculture, health, or any other sector, have the potential to affect a positive change in the economy, he added.”
“I appreciate you for your hard work to make Bihar a center of innovation and entrepreneurship. our government is with you at every step of this journey,” he further said.
The winners of the three different categories were announced and received their prizes from the chief guest. A coffee table book was launched featuring Bihar's startup policy and successful startup stories from the state. All the winners also got the opportunity to speak about their startup and their experience of participating in Bihar Innovation Challenge 2023.
The BIC was a game-changer for Bihar's startup ecosystem, and it is hoped that the event will continue to grow and support innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
