Jain Community Holds Pitch Day to Invest in Startups in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: In an effort to give the economy a boost and support entrepreneurial talent in the country, and Post JIIF successfully hosting ET Power of Ideas (POI) – Elevator Pitches at Cello JITO Incubation Centre, Mumbai on 19th & 20th Jan 2018 with 300+ Start-up founders and 70+ Jury members. JIIF with their ecosystem Partner CiiE IIM-Ahmedabad had together put a successful show on 21st April in Ahmedabad. JITO Incubation and innovation Foundation today organized an ‘Investor Pitch Day’ for startups at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (new campus). 5 high-potential startups pitched their business ideas to JITO Angel Network (JAN) members for investments and guidance from the entrepreneurial Jain community.
Prominent among those who pitched included Oizom, a startup providing smart environmental monitoring solutions, Torchit, a startup engaged in making assistive devices for the visually impaired people, Aglio Research, which is providing a one-stop electronics prototyping platform for all age groups, Linksmart Technologies, a startup engaged in the business of providing solutions for counterfeiting and package-tampering and HappyEMI, a next generation consumer finance company.
The Pitch Day at the campus of prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad was marked by our enthusiastic participation. The Pitch Day was organized in association with our Ecosystem Partner CIIE IIM-A. A large number of JAN members, industry leaders (in their respective sectors) and many seasoned Angel Investors participated in the event. There were knowledge sessions on the dynamics of Angel Investing. The day was also an opportunity for Startups to network with relevant investors for strategic support and mentoring apart from seeking funding.
The volume of funds that investors were willing to pledge was by no means small. Individual investors broadly considered investing a minimum of 5 lakhs to a crore in each startup cumulatively leading to a ticket size of 50 lakhs to 5 crores per startup. A cumulative investment interest of $3 Mn has been received so far with $1 Mn investments executed across these 5 startups.
Speaking of the initiative, Dr Narendra Shyamsukha, Chairman JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation and Founder Chairman, ICA Edu Skills, said, “We believe the youth has immense talent and can come out with path-breaking solutions for some of the everyday problems we face, either individually or as a society. Since we have a vision of shaping the future of the country and since we ourselves have immense experience in the business world, we have decided to lend a helping hand to the youngsters to set up and expand their business. JAN’s aim is to facilitate economic empowerment in the country through the startup ecosystem. The Pitch Day is not just an opportunity for startups looking for investment; it also facilitates new investors to consider startup investments as an alternate investment avenue.”
Informing the audience about JITO, Mr. Anil Jain, Director In-charge, JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) and Founding Chairman, Refex Group of Companies said, “JITO is the largest organization of prominent Jain businessmen, industrialists and professionals in the country. JITO’s Investor Pitch Day is an excellent opportunity for startups and entrepreneurs to showcase their potential. The startups seeking funding don’t have to be a Jain outfit, All are welcome to pitch their ideas and seek investment.”
JITO have plans to open many more incubation centers across major cities in the country to help and nurture startups. The first such center was started at Mumbai (in Sept 2017) and will be followed up with similar centers in other metros. Many startups are housed in the JITO Incubation Centre set up by JITO, which offers world class office space along with mentoring, networking, connections, funding opportunities through JITO network, free credits, shared basic services and much more.
*Virtual Incubation facility also available.
JITO Angel Network organizes Regular Investor Pitch days showcasing innovative high potential startups for investment to JITO Angel Network members. We aim to provide high growth Startups to Investors here for exponential returns on their investments.