Innovation, Partnerships and Funding galore at ISF 2024

Hyderabad, Telangana: 27^th September 2024: The International Start-up Foundation, a prominent not-for-profit organization supporting the growth and development of the start-up ecosystem, co powered by NTT Data hosts the . Themed ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the AI Era’. ISF 2024 got underway with International Startup Foundation signing 12 MOU’s with institutions like Singularity University, We-Hub, US India Chamber of Commerce, Association of Business Women in Commerce and Industry(ABWCI), RICH (Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad), Telangana State Innovation Cell, Quality Engineering Foundation, World Trade Centre – Shamshabad, GMR Innovation Centre, IIIT Hyderabad, HYSEA, and NIT, Warangal for strategic partnerships to strengthen the startup ecosystem, encourage the next generation of innovators and women entrepreneurs by providing mentorship and market access.  The much awaited ‘ISF Pitch Fest’ winners were announced at ISF 2024 being held at Engineering Staff College of India (ESCI), Gachibowli.

The 3-day ISF 2024 hosts more than 250+ CXOs 300+ VCs, 800+ Global Angels, more than 5000 + delegates from over 15 countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, UAE and 8 countries from Europe. will participate in ISF 24. ISF 2024 is a unique platform for startup founders to connect with peers and investors, collaborate on innovative projects, and outline a growth path for their ventures.

The ISF Expo was inaugurated by Mr D. Shetkar Suresh Kumar, Member of Parliament, Zahirabad, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Govt. of Telangana, the representatives from International Startup Foundation and ESCI along with Over 200+ curated startups demonstrating their innovations at the startup exhibition. It was a dynamic space showcasing cutting-edge products and solutions, attracting interest from investors, industry leaders and delegates. The highlight of the Expo will be the Junicorn pavilion – which was the only exclusive zone in the world created for school students and undergraduate innovators to showcase and present their state-of-the-art solutions to the world leaders. Over 30 Junicorns participated and were beaming with enthusiasm at the opportunity of presenting their ideas to their Role Models and attentively taking advice on how to improve and scale up their ideas into sustainable businesses. Hover Robotix & Mentor X will be empowering young entrepreneurs and advancing innovation in AI and robotics. They will provide essential mentorship, resources, global networks, and funding opportunities to transform early-stage startups into industry-leading powerhouses, cultivating a dynamic ecosystem for Junicorns.

This was followed by the Rural Economic Forum Round Table and the GCC Roundtable.

According to  Mr. Shridhar Babu, Minister of IT, E&C, Industries and Commerce, Govt of Telangana, ” Today the International Startup Festival (ISF) is a great initiative by J A Chowdary, who has a great passion, interest and resolve to bring about a IT revolution in India. He has comeback to encourage youth and upcoming generations to propel  and advance technology and software industries with startups to solve ground level problems through their innovations. He has introduced us to a new concept of Junicorns after Unicorns and Soonicorns, where ISF is encouraging next generation of innovators.Currently , many startups are finding innovative solutions in domains apart from software and  technology, like mechanical, agricultural, health tech etc. Government of Telangana wants to partner with various national and international companies and foster their growth. This is where the Telangana government would like to spend its time and focus on.  Most of these innovators struggle to find the right market or struggle to scale up, we wish to create a suitable infrastructure to help the startups find the right market in India and overseas. We wish  to have  40-50 unicorns propelled in the state. We are creating an AI City to build an ecosystem to propel growth. We want to make Telangana the global AI capital. We will soon be  setting up a skill University to train people in the new technologies like AI to support the mission.

According to Dr. J.A. Chowdary, Chairperson & Convenor of the International Startup Foundation, “We at ISF believe in cultivating and promoting a problem-solving mindset backed by the zeal to discover innovative solutions that will lead to the foundation for great enterprises in the future. ISF 2024 is a unique ecosystem for innovators to ignite their creative potential and transform their ideas into actionable solutions. We are fortunate to be in India as it is taking major strides towards becoming Viksit Bharat and missions like ‘Startup India’ and ‘Make in India’ provide a suitable policy framework and assistance to solve real ground-level problems and make significant contributions to the transformation of India. My advice to the bright minds here is to focus on Rural India, as it accounts for 65% of the country’s population contributing only 46% of the national income and growing at about 10% annually, with its unique set of problems which can be effectively solved by disruptive use of technology. Solutions for the problems in rural India can play a pivotal role in transforming the lives of the majority of the population, help connect them with the rapidly growing economy of the country and be the accelerators towards change.  At ISF 2024 we pioneered the 1^st Rural Economic Roundtable which discussed the various challenges and possible enablers to encourage enhanced contribution of the rural economy in the growth of our country.  This would also ensure stable, sustainable growth that will generate employment for a large section of the population in the country. In this direction, the International Startup Foundation also plans to conduct ‘Ankura Yatra’ in AP, Telangana and other states with teams of CXOs, Mentors, VCs and Angels travelling to the rural areas to reach out to the innovators and understand the potential of their solutions and help them grow and expand.”

“At ISF 2024, we aim to empower the next generation of innovators not just to envision change but to actively engage in creating it,” added Dr Siva Mahesh Tangutooru, Co-founder & Director of ISF. “We have identified 10-15 start-ups who would be mentored by the International Startup Foundation. We are also encouraging the Junicorns so that they become an integral part of the startup movement, future job creators and agents of transformation for the country by allowing them to showcase their innovative solutions.”