Riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory) had been selected by ‘Startup India’ as one of the incubators in Maharashtra to celebrate National Startup Day.
Hon’ble Prime Minister announced 16 January, the founding day of Startup India, as the National Startup Day. To celebrate this special day and the spirit of entrepreneurship, The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) aimed to celebrate 16 January as the National Startup Day, in various parts of the country. This day was celebrated as part of the Startup India Innovation Summit 2023, the biggest startup event in India.
As one of the incubators selected to commemorate the day, 200+ startups, 50+ Investors, 20+ Dignitaries, and 20+ Incubators were present at the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus in Mumbai to celebrate the occasion.
The National Startup Day celebration at riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar comprised of a ‘Demo Day’ event, where 20+ selected startups pitched directly to investors, followed by a huge networking event for more than 200 startups. The event ended with an inauguration ceremony for ‘Maker Mela’. Aligned with the Prime Minister’s initiative of National Startup Day, riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar is set to host the 8th Edition of ‘Maker Mela’, which will facilitate more than 100 participating Makers, to take their ideas to the market.
Ms. Maya Vishwakarma, also known as the ‘Padwoman of India’, graced the event as the Keynote Speaker. She inspired all the innovators and the audience present, by leading them through the journey of the ‘Sukarma Foundation’, an organisation that has positively impacted the lives of millions of women across the rural parts of India.
Gaurang Shetty, Chief Innovation Catalyst, riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar, said, “We are extremely proud that riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar had been chosen as one of the incubators to celebrate the National Startup Day. The event was a great success overall, where we saw some amazing startups, who are innovating and creating some absolutely wonderful things, and solving real problems. Today was just the first day of a three-day event, Maker Mela, that focuses around giving the ‘Makers’ of our nation a platform to showcase their creations”.
Ms. Maya Vishwakarma, Founder and Chairperson, Sukarma Foundation, said, “As India is developing at a rapid rate, the tribal community is sadly always overlooked. Especially the discrimination against women in rural areas is still highly evident. Coming from a rural background and being a woman myself, I know what the hardships women have to go through. One of the biggest problems in my village was menstrual hygiene. The topic was such a taboo, that no one wanted to even talk about it. I decided that this is a true problem and if nobody takes the initiative to solve this problem, it is never going to improve. It became my life goal to solve the menstrual hygiene problem of the women in my village.
As I worked towards solving the problem for my village, I came to understand that this was the case across almost every village in India. We grew our operation of offering sanitary pads exponentially and creating awareness for menstrual hygiene and that is how I accidentally became a social entrepreneur of sorts. Thus, one thing that I would want to say to the youth of the nation is that, problems are looming across every corner. The onus is on us to solve those problems, and that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.”
