JOIN USElevate 2019 picks 100 startups
Recognising startups and providing them access to funds, the IT-BT and Science and Technology department’s programme Elevate 2019 has identified 100 winners this year out of the 270 startups chosen for the final rounds that concluded on Tuesday in Bengaluru.
The startups from across Karnataka vying for funding, mentoring and a chance to scale up their businesses, were given eight minutes to pitch their ideas.
Of the 270 startups, the 100 winners included 23 from tier-II and tier-III cities. A total of 29 women entrepreneurs were chosen based on the jury’s recommendations. While 76 startups are Bengaluru-based, 10 are from Dharwad, three from Dakshina Kannada and two each from Mysuru and Udupi besides other districts. Sector-wise, IT-ITES had the highest number with 41 startups followed by 15 biotechnology ventures, 13 medical and nine agricultural tech innovators.
“Bengaluru is the startup capital of India that has helped in closing 267 deals -- the highest in India out of the 864. The state will soon set up an innovation authority headed by the Chief Minister to empower startups to overcome legal hurdles in innovative technologies and ideas,” said chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar congratulating the winners.
Prashant Kumar Mishra, MD, KITS, Government of Karnataka, said Elevate 2019 received about 729 applications since March 2019.
“After two rounds of shortlisting, as many as 270 applications were chosen and 100 were identified as winners. Ever since the inception of the programme, a total of 264 startups have been supported with a fund of Rs 64 crore,” he added. Reflecting the growing startup culture in the state, some of the winners hailed from Vijayapura (fashion technology), Chikkaballapur (food processing) and Chamarajanagar (ecotourism).