Youth of J&K have immense potential which needs to be utilized: Dwivedi

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with WE HUB, India’s first and only state-led incubator of Government of Telangana to foster and promote women entrepreneurship and startup culture here.

The MoU was inked virtually between Principal Secretary (IT, E&C), Government of Telangana, Jayesh Ranjan and Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Govt. of J&K, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

Executive Director, JKEDI, GM Dar, Senior Faculty Members of JKEDI and other officers were also present on the occasion while as CEO, WE HUB, Deepthi Ravula participated through video conferencing.

In his address, Principal Secretary (ITE &C), Government of Telangana, Jayesh Ranjan, said, “It is a historic day for governments of Telangana and J&K as through WE HUB we are able to join hands with JKEDI in the field of entrepreneurship development. Apart from the pre-incubation, incubation and startup exchange programs between JKEDI and WE HUB of Telangana, certain aspects of Progressive Innovation Startup Policy of Telangana govt. can be replicated in J&K for promotion of culture of startups and entrepreneurship”. He added that this partnership will be productive for both the places and will help in sharing technical expertise and other domains of scaling up ecosystem of entrepreneurship.

Addressing the gathering, Commissioner Secretary, I&C, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said that the youth of J&K have immense potential which needs to be utilized to its maximum extent. Dwivedi said, “With such collaborations, we are hopeful to gain the guidance and support of progressive state like Telangana,” he added.

The Commissioner Secretary added that the MoU with WE HUB is a milestone and we are sure We Hub will guide JKEDI of Government of Jammu and Kashmir to build an innovation and investment driven economy for J&K. he added that the collaboration of JKEDI and We Hub can transform the startup culture in Jammu and Kashmir.

Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE HUB, said, “We are glad to collaborate with EDI of government of Jammu and Kashmir to promote entrepreneurship across both places and through this partnership we want to progress aspiring entrepreneurs to move from idea to prototype, create market linkages to the startups of states and to make best benefit of the startup exchange programs. We are glad that WEHUB is becoming a knowledge partner for several states”.

Executive Director, JKEDI said, “With this collaboration, we expect a significant change for the start-ups as it will provide a platform to them to engage with their counterparts from Telangana, which will provide them a platform for idea exchange”.

He added that we are starting a pre-incubation program that will focus on women founders and co-founders, with 30 start-ups from Jammu and Kashmir and 30 from Telangana. It would be a big boost to the start-up ecosystem for women.

Pertinently through this collaboration, a start-up exchange module will be created between JKEDI and WE HUB comprising of 5 start-ups each from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir. It will take their start-up ideas ahead, track their progress and link them with suitable mentors, help them taking beyond Proof of Concept (PoC) and enroll the best spin-offs as virtual/physical incubates at JKEDI.

After the pre-incubation program and rigorous interventions, a total of 60 start-ups from Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir will undergo a co-incubation program. This co-incubation brings in the start-ups the opportunity to scale up to viable enterprises and receive rapid growth mentorship from the leaders at JKEDI and WE HUB. The start-ups will also have Government supported exposure visits across Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir.

WE HUB and JKEDI are working towards creating policy exchange platforms and stakeholder engagement to enable discussions on the policy framework and conduct case studies to enable more gender inclusion and create an eco-system that enables more young women and girls to be part of the economic workforce.