Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has marked a significant milestone as the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary Shri S. Krishnan inaugurated a state-of-the-art incubation facility of the Apiary Center of Entrepreneurship (CoE) at STPI-Gurugram. This momentous occasion was attended by Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary, MeitY; Pankaj Thakar, Chief Mentor, Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI; Shri Devesh Tyagi, Senior Director, STPI and Dr. Rajneesh Agrawal, Director, STPI-Gurugram.
Apiary is one of the CoEs of STPI which is focused on Blockchain Technology and is set up in collaboration with MeitY, STPI, Govt. of Haryana, Padup Ventures, IBM, Intel, GBA, and FITT. This CoE is a first-of-its-kind initiative to identify and support promising startups and promote entrepreneurship in the field of Blockchain Technology. It has a fully furnished incubation infrastructure of 7,000 sq. ft. equipped with 80 plug-n-play seats, conference rooms, and an auditorium. It targets to incubate an overall 100 startups in a period of 5 years.
During the inauguration, S. Krishnan took a walk-through of the Apiary incubation facility and interacted with the young entrepreneurs.
“Meeting the young entrepreneurs was quite an enriching experience. The way these entrepreneurs have addressed real-world problems using cutting-edge technology is really commendable. These entrepreneurs aren’t confined to national boundaries and this quality distinguishes them from others. In the last three decades, the way we have used technology is the key benchmark for our country’s exponential growth,” said S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY.
Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary, MeitY, said, “Blockchain technology can be sustainable for our economy. It can be used right from supply chain to waste management. It has the potential to become an enabler in sustainable growth.”
Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI said, “Apiary CoE’s incubation facility will bring a new revolution in the technology sector. Blockchain technology has a lot of potential and is considered to be the biggest invention since the internet. This incubation facility at Apiary CoE is a stepping stone towards India’s digital transformation.”
The inauguration was preceded by a conference on Sustainable Development Goals Thru Web 3.0, under which two sessions “Sustainable Development Goals With Web 3.0: Challenges and Opportunities” and “Business Transformation with Web 3.0” were organised. The speakers Pankaj Thakar, Chief Mentor Apiary CoE & Founder PadUp Ventures; Subodh Sachan, Director (Startup & Innovation); STPI Amit Jindal, Mentor Apiary CoE & President Government Blockchain Association (NCR); Anshu Bhartia, Ex-CEO UnLtd India Social Incubator and Avneesh Saksena Management Consultant, Mentor and CEO & Executive Coach shared insights with young entrepreneurs in the audience.