Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and Start-up Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) IIT Kanpur bring together Launchpad 2021
Kanpur, U.P: To kick start their recent association and to strengthen their efforts towards promoting indigenous innovation, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and SIIC IIT Kanpur will hold Launchpad Competition on 23rd April 2021.
The SICCI-SIIC INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD – a start-up pitch competition will be held on a virtual platform. The event will be conducted from 2.30 PM (Singapore Time) to 4:30 PM (Singapore Time) / 12 PM (IST) to 2 PM (IST).
The launchpad event involves nine pre-selected contestants – five from Singapore and four from India. They will participate to present a virtual pitch of their ideas to the judges. Two winners; one from Singapore and one from India, will be awarded a token of appreciation of SGD 2000 each on the same day.
The purpose of the launchpad is to encourage start-ups to take advantage of the Singapore-India trade and technology corridor. To enable a cross-border exchange of ideas and leveraging relevant market opportunities, the Singapore contestants will be hosted in IIT Kanpur following the event while Indian contestants will be hosted in Singapore. LaunchPad 2021 will be an annual event to recognise (such) start-ups with the potential to tap into each other’s markets and develop sustainable services.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT, Kanpur said “Launchpad 2021 aims to bring together the best of innovative start-ups from both India and Singapore and both countries can have the best of homegrown ideas from both the nations. We are hopeful that this platform will give rise to many path breaking initiatives in education and entrepreneurship development and give rise to ample opportunities across various areas.”
Commenting on prospective collaboration with SICCI, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Professor In-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur commented, “LaunchPad 2021 is the first of many upcoming endeavours that marks the beginning of an unseen era in the incubation ecosystem. SIIC and SICCI have come together to develop a symbiotic relationship to benefit indigenous innovations in our respective countries. As we open our doors for their startups to explore the Indian market, and vice versa, we bring in a plethora of opportunities for all stakeholders. We are delighted to support tech-based businesses that are sustainable, ensure value-addition, and provide local employment opportunities.”
Commenting on the successful association, Dr T Chandroo, Chairman, SICCI said, “It is our pleasure to collaborate with an institution of prestige, such as IIT Kanpur. With SIIC, we plan to provide a well-deserved launchpad to our start-ups and those in India to create well-established global brands that thrive on excellence, innovation, and ingenuity.”
On 10th March 2021 Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and SIIC IIT Kanpur signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to commemorate their shared goals of education and entrepreneurship development. The two institutions will collaborate to identify young, indigenous talent to provide them with an array of incubation services. The one-of-its-kind association will provide start-ups in Singapore and India a competitive edge in the global market. With an array of services, both SICCI and SIIC will promote homegrown and international initiatives operating in the technology domain with mentorship and access to capital.