January 17, 2018
The facility will provide budding entrepreneurs with financial, technological and mentoring support. The centre will offer guidance through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design as well as emerging technologies.
It is expected that the efficiency developed from the iCreate facility will help India deal with major issues related to food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices, among others.
iCreate will be an important mechanism of Government of India’s Startup India initiative and will involve leading Indian companies from a cross -section of industries as advisors. The platform will help turn India’s youth into job creators from job seekers
While inaugurating the event, PM Modi spoke of cooperation between India and Israel for innovation in areas such as food, water, health and energy, adding that innovation will play a key role in bringing the people of India and Israel closer.
India has launched a new venture to encourage grassroot innovation and entrepreneurship. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on January 17th inaugurated the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCreate) in Ahmedabad. The independent facility will provide budding entrepreneurs with financial and technological support, along with specialised mentorship. The centre will offer guidance through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design as well as emerging technologies. It is anticipated that the efficiency developed from iCreate will help deal with major issues related to food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices, among others.
The iCreate venture has been jointly set up by Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd (GMDC) and Gujarat Entrepreneurship and Venture Promotion Foundation (GEVPF). iCreate will be an important mechanism of Government of India’s Startup India initiative and will involve leading Indian companies from a cross-section of industries as advisors. The platform will provide a 13-week intensive grooming programme to equip candidates, with or without a project idea or team, for their entrepreneurial journey towards creating rapidly-scalable businesses. At the end of the Grooming phase, participants have the choice and the opportunity to craft and pitch a project plan for subsequent incubation at iCreate. The objective of the platform will be to innovate to overcome the challenges facing the nation today, and to improve the quality of life of the common man at lowest possible cost.
iCreate has set out a range of different funding programmes to help develop interesting new ideas at different stages. The venture will also conduct a variety of workshops for a diverse set of audiences – from students to existing entrepreneurs . While inaugurating the event, PM Modi also spoke of cooperation between India and Israel for innovation in areas such as food, water, health and energy.
PM Modi said that innovation would play a key role in bringing the people of India and Israel closer. PM Modi added that the entire world has taken note of the technological prowess and creativity of Israel. Such inspirations will guide iCreate in developing an ecosystem in India to generate quality enterprisers. iCreate is a crucial step under the Government’s strategy of turning the country’s job-seeking youth into job creators. This comes at a time when India is being estimated to host the country’s largest youth population by 2030. Solutions to most problems that India faces today lie with fresh innovation. The Prime Minister said that the Government was working to make the entire system innovation-friendly, so that intent can generate ideas; ideas lead to innovation; and innovation will help create a New India.