Innovation Mission Punjab () was conceptualized as a catalytic organization in 2020 to bolster the startup ecosystem in Punjab, support startups in creating high value jobs and boost investment in the state.
Built as a public-private partnership, IMPunjab is collaborative in nature. Its mission is to support budding entrepreneurs and startups in Punjab through virtual and physical engagements, training, stakeholder networking and collaboration opportunities. It also brings resources from around the world – global mentors, mainstream toolsets, and curated content – and makes them accessible to people.
Preparing for the Punjab commissioning
“After the boom in agriculture and industry, Punjab has missed out on the current economic wave, meaning technology and startups. This has not resulted in investments and jobs in Punjab. The founders of Zomato, Ola, Blinkit and Flipkart are all Punjabi but migrated to places with developed startup ecosystems due to lack of opportunities in Punjab,” IMPunjab President Pramod Bhasin tells YourStory.
He explains: “Punjab entrepreneurs have created Indian companies with a net worth of more than $50 billion and foreign companies with a net worth of more than $100 billion. While Punjabis have been at the forefront of the start-up movement, Punjab has not been its headquarters. We wish to reinvigorate the adventurous nature of Punjabis and encourage young entrepreneurs and innovators to undertake and undertake in Punjab. Therefore, the government and the private sector have come together to form a unique partnership to offer a best-in-class platform for budding entrepreneurs.”
In its effort to prepare Punjab for a “start-up movement”, IMPunjab is working with various stakeholders including the Punjabi diaspora, investors, entrepreneurs, incubators, schools and universities, business leaders and artists. The mission says it has onboarded more than 350 startups.
“Now we are almost getting one start registration per day. We actively engage with registered startups on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis, providing ongoing support and achieving milestones such as creating a financial model, running a pilot, and creating a GTM (go-to-market) strategy. We are constantly helping them build their capacity and providing open source content as well as access to exclusive master class sessions and webinars led by experts,” explains Pramod.
The mission also connects with educational institutes across the state to harness potential talent and mentor them so they can create “world-class start-ups that achieve unicorn status sooner rather than later,” according to Pramod.
three pillars
The three pillars of the mission are Pollinator, Accelerator and Innovation Fund.
Pollinator builds communities by bringing stakeholders together and creating networks. This helps incubators, investors, angels, industries, academia, and university e-cells build on each other’s strengths.
“We are actively working with higher education institutions at the state level to reach out to students and form e-cells to raise awareness of entrepreneurship at the university level. We also run a monthly innovation challenge in the cities to identify the next young entrepreneur in the region and support them along their journey,” says Pramod.
IMPunjab has also launched the Punjab Incubator Network for Entrepreneurs (PINE) networking, matching and training sessions to get incubators to support and co-incubate local startups.
The second pillar, Accelerator, provides structured guidance, mentor support, pilot opportunities, capacity building programs, catalytic capital, and business services to support early-stage startups.
The mission is in the process of launching its first cohort of 15 startups under the IMPunjab Accelerator program. IMPunjab will provide three-month structured support to 15 early-stage startups and will also provide them with Rs 3 lakh as experimental capital to validate assumptions and build scalability. The industry independent show will have startups from various sectors including agritech, deep tech, food processing, and edtech.
IMPunjab is also holding a city specific event called Startup Day, in the cities of Punjab, to boost registrations. During Startup Day, participants have dedicated time with a panel of experts to get feedback on their ideas and startups. They can also attend industry stalwart sessions and become part of the startup community.
As part of the Innovation Fund, the third pillar, IMPunjab plans to launch a Rs 150 crore venture capital fund to finance startups that meet the necessary criteria.
“We have already received commitments. The state government will provide an anchor of 10% of the total amount, while we will collect the rest through our alliance with companies and investors. Out of the fund, with government support, we would provide cash prizes, prototyping prizes, etc. to the winners of various competitions to further encourage entrepreneurship and ideation,” says Pramod.
The team
The government appointed Pramod Bhasin (Founder of Genpact, Clix Capital and Asha Impact) to chair IMPunjab in 2020. The board is also composed of Saurabh Srivastava (Nasscom, IAN, IVCA), DS Brar (former CEO of Ranbaxy), Dr. Ajay Shah (author and chief economist), and filmmaker Bobby Bedi, along with two ex officio senior secretaries.
Pramod, along with government support, eventually assembled a passionate and like-minded advisory board made up of the likes of Naina Lal Kidwai (former country director of HSBC India), Manoj Kohli (country director of SoftBank India, former CEO and director CEO of Bharti Airtel), Rajan Anandan (CEO of Sequoia Capital India, former Vice President of Google), Pritika Mehta (Founder of SocksSoho), Jeet Jandu (CEO of India Trade and Investment), Sehraj Singh (CEO of Nasper Limited/ Prosus), Ido Aharoni (Israeli diplomat, Brand Israel), Ajai Choudhary (Founder of HCL) and Jaspal Bindra (Chairman of Centrum Group).
Somveer Anand is the CEO and Director of Mission of IMPunjab. He leads the team from Mohali, Chandigarh.
the road ahead
IMPunjab aims to reach a working population of 14 million, 30 universities, 1000 colleges and 8 lakh students based in Punjab.
IMPunjab is launching an accelerator in Kalkat Bhawan, Mohali with virtual and physical interventions. The mission also plans to create networks of state and national angels to catalyze seed funding for startups and help them scale their businesses.