IIT Mandi Catalyst calls for applications for Startup Grand Challenge

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi business incubator is hosting the fifth edition of its annual flagship event, Himalayan Startup Trek (HST) on December 11 and 12, 2021.

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In its fifth edition, HST 2021 will host the ‘HST Startup Grand Challenge’ - a startup pitch competition under three themes which are as follows:

• The New Age Alliance - Human-Computer Interaction with a prize money of Rs 2 lakhs (Sponsored by iHub and HCI Foundation, IIT Mandi)
• The Foothill Innovators Challenge - Build for the Himalayas with a prize money of Rs 1.25 lakhs (Sponsored by SJVNL and Compliance Support)
• The Habitable World Challenge - Environment and Sustainability with a prize money of Rs 2 lakhs (Sponsored by ALSiSAR Impact, Peak Ventures, The Solar Labs)

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Startups, innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs can participate in the competition and get an opportunity to win Rs 5 lakh cash prizes and Rs 50 lakhs funding opportunity during the event. The last date to apply for the competition is November 25, 2021.

“The event aims at bringing together the stakeholders of the Indian Startup ecosystem and providing a platform to young entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas for incubation support and to raise funding from investors,” the IIT Mandi statement said.

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A prize money of up to Rs 2 lakhs will be distributed to the top 3 startups in the given themes. Apart from this, top startups will also be provided with incubation support and funding access for prototyping as well product development through various funding schemes hosted by Catalyst and will be provided upto Rs 50 lakh of funding, the statement said.

Inviting the aspiring entrepreneurs to participate in Startup Grand Challenge, Puran Singh, Faculty-in-charge, IIT Mandi Catalyst, said, “HST has been the gateway to Catalyst’s incubation program for startups from across the country. The thematic startup grand challenge this year is the latest feature in HST. We are building capacity and expertise in these three areas and intend to handpick committed startups for support.”