SIIC, IIT Kanpur and MoHUA to support 20 startups, 55 more under "Startup Gateway Free Cities"

IIT Kanpur will be a partner incubator for the startups under the "Startup Gateway Free Cities" program to support 20 innovative startups for projects up to Rs. 4 Cr to add to the evolving innovation ecosystem globally.

The technology business incubator of IIT Kanpur, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), has announced signing an MoU with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to become a partner under the "Startup Gateway Free Cities" program. Under this program, MoHUA will act as a monitoring agency to support 20 startups at the first phase, excluding the top 10 startups from 30 finalists under the 'Swachhata Startup Challenge', by providing funding support to add to the evolving innovation ecosystem globally in the domain of waste-to-wealth.

SIIC IIT Kanpur is an implementation partner for managing the Program under the initiative to support 20 selected innovations/startups by offering mentorship, administrative and handholding support for one year. In addition, 55 startups will be identified during the program implementation and will be provided the adequate support required for their growth.

The vision of this collaboration between MoHUA & SIIC, IIT Kanpur is to support 75 startups working at the nexus of technology and social innovation to solve India's waste management challenges by improving waste management efficiency, increasing social impact, and improving transparency of the waste value chain. The "Startup Gateway for Garbage Free Cities" portal shall remain open across the year. In the initiative's first cohort, 20 startups shall get financial support. The second phase of this initiative shall begin on the portal, wherein any potential startup can simultaneously apply under the relevant incubation mode.

Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-Charge, Innovation and Incubation IIT Kanpur, commented, “We are pleased to partner with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for this prestigious program. These 20 startups will create impactful businesses through this partnership by creating indigenous technologies in waste to wealth domain.”

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