iDEATION, an initiative launched by the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Guwahati seeks to provide funding to select start-ups that have the potential to grow. It aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators and startups of Northeast India and build a startup eco-system in this region.
They have earmarked Rs 10 crore to be invested in select startups, primarily from the NE region, over a period of three years.
NRL launched its second edition of startup selection and funding program iDEATION 2018 in February 2018. The official website, is now open for submission of startup proposals till 30 April.
NRL’s maiden initiative iDEATION 2017 was launched last year on 4th of July’2017 at Guwahati. An independent panel of jury with members closely associated with the startup ecosystem of the country conducted the selection process. Four startups were finally selected for a total funding of Rs.1.29 crores last year.
To encourage and motivate young entrepreneurs particularly from the student community in university and college campuses, NRL organized a series of startup boot camps. Startup boot camps, titled as “#OutOfSyllabus” were organized in various campuses from 8-14 March, this year.
The iDEATION team visited IIT Guwahati, Assam Engineering College, Gauhati University, Jorhat Engineering College, Dibrugarh University, Assam Agriculture University and Kaziranga University.
NRL’s Director (Technical), Bhaskar Phukan and Chief General Manager (Technical), Nikunja Borthakur also visited some of the campuses to share their experiences. Around 600 to 700 students participated in the boot camps.