Calling Odisha as a favorite destination for investors, Industries Minister Pratap Keshari Deb urged young minds of the State to take entrepreneurship seriously.
He spoke this while attending the Startup Odisha’s ‘Fundstack 2.0’ as chief guest. The two-day event was held in Bhubaneswar and Puri where 20 startups selected through a rigorous process from shortlisted 100 presented their innovative ideas to 20 investors.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister solicited suggestions from the invited panel of investors which shall help Startup Odisha to further develop the ecosystem of the State.
Executive Chairman Dr Omkar Rai said that Fundstack is not just a platform that facilitates investment for startups but also a forum for capacity building and investment readiness which enables the participating startups to raise funds from private investors who in turn lead the startups on the trajectory of growth and scaling businesses.
Principal Secretary of MSME Ranjana Chopra talked about a progressive and investor friendly Startup Ecosystem in Odisha.
The first edition of Fundstack was held virtually in 2021 in which over 200 startups gained business insights from over 20 eminent Angel Investors. The second edition was announced this year by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on August 26. This year it was a two-day pitching and networking event to attract investments for startups.
The programme was planned as a precursor to the upcoming Make In Odisha 2022 which will be held from November 30 to December 4.
CEO of Startup Odisha, Md Sadique Alam delivered the welcome address. During the session, the Odisha Startup Growth Fund was presented by Dr Sanjukta Badhai, Evangelist, Startup Odisha.
On the second day, the investors joined a roundtable meet at Puri, where they emphasised on private equity investment to fuel the growth in startup sector. The event concluded with one –on- one meeting between the selected startups and investors.