Dimapur: Two entrepreneurs from Nagaland were awarded at the Ideabaaz Startup Fest 2026 in the categories of Best Cultural Performance and Best Aromatic Plant.
While D Ledia Awomi received the award in the Best Cultural Performance category, L Chuba Longkumer was awarded in the Best Aromatic Plant category.
The festival was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from August 26 to 30.
Awomi, president of the Ethnic Group of Nagaland, curated an ethnic fashion show at the event to showcase Nagaland’s ethnic attire and handlooms.
Sharing how she came into association with Ideabaaz, she said it was her previous body of work, which includes working with women’s organisations, organising fashion events, and being part of local movie production, that brought her in contact with it.
She hoped that the rich culture of the state will be further promoted through her future collaborations with Ideabaaz.
Entrepreneur Longkumer is the proprietor of M/s L.C. Longkumer Agar Processing Unit, which was set up in 2016.
His father started agarwood plantation in the early part of the 1960s. After his father passed away, Longkumer started the processing unit for agarwood oil production.
He has decades of hands-on experience in the cultivation, sourcing, processing and distillation of agarwood oil.
Longkumer shared that one of his motivations for starting the enterprise was to get a fair price for locally produced agarwood, support growers and plantation workers, protect communities from unfair practices, and create employment opportunities.
With Nagaland having favourable soil, water and climate conditions for producing high-quality agar oil, he said the state’s agarwood oil is a prized commodity in the market.
He added that agar oil produced in the state is more resinous, with a distinct sweet smell that lasts longer compared to others.
Longkumer, who plans to expand the enterprise’s retail presence in international markets such as Dubai and Bangkok, stated that most of his customers are presently from Middle Eastern countries.