Bhubaneshwar:Odisha will establish mother fab labs, capable of generating several other fab labs across the state Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha Dr. Omkar Rai said on Sunday.
Addressing Startup Mela 2023, the maiden effort of Startup Odisha inaugurated here during the day, Rai said Odisha will announce a revised Startup policy soon.
“We believe that it is the maker culture, and the culture of creativity which will take the state forward,” he said
The Startup Mela, aimed at orienting youth toward startups, innovation and entrepreneurship by showcasing Odisha’s Startup Ecosystem, was inaugurated by Odisha MSME minister Pratap Keshari Deb.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a statement said Startup Odisha has been recognised by the central government as a top performer.
Startup Mela, he said, is a great platform that will motivate “our students, innovators, and startups to demonstrate Odisha’s entrepreneurial zeal, and will inspire the startup culture at the grassroots and institute level”.
In his keynote address, Deb said, “We want entrepreneurs in Odisha. We need to start manufacturing to compete at the national level.
“The west is providing us with a huge opportunity in terms of manufacturing and we should make the best of that opportunity,” he said.
The minister said “We need to start working on marketing and branding and that is where the young generation should step in”.
“Startup is the only gateway through which we can establish a thoroughbred self-made entrepreneur in Odisha,” Deb said adding in another five to seven years, the next industrial hub of the country will be Odisha.
Delivering the opening comments, Dr.Rai said, “It is the vision of the Chief Minister for Odisha to be in the top three in the startup ecosystem of the country.
Startup Mela 2023, is another step that has been taken to achieve that vision where students will be advised as to how to access the ecosystem and convert their ideas into products.
He said “We have also for the first time come up with the concept of Brand Ambassadors from carefully chosen academic institutions. These ambassadors will not only be innovators themselves but also act as a bridge between Startup Odisha and academic institutions”.
Rai further said “When we launched our fund of fund program with a commitment of rupees one hundred crores from the government of Odisha, we received an overwhelming response from the investor community, and we are going to have over Rs.1200 crore fund of funds, which will be jointly operated by Government of Odisha and seven AIF fund managers.”.
