As many as 51 students shortlisted from 530 aspirants with entrepreneurial mindset from different colleges of Mangaluru began their journey towards entrepreneurship to create minimal viable product (MVP) so as to exhibit them to investors.
The students on Wednesday attended the Young Entrepreneurs Meet to kick start the Entrepreneurship Mindset Programme of InUnity Mangaluru, supported by CII Industry Academia Panel and Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, organised by Sahyadri Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SHINE) Foundation.
InUnity Mangaluru is a six-month bi-annual event to nurture youngsters with an entrepreneurial spirit to build community-centric solutions under the guidance of industry mentors. The programme serves as a catalyst, enhancing the interaction between educational institutions, industry associations and community stakeholders to develop effective solutions for the community.
Students who are selected will be mentored by industry mentors in the next six months to use rapid prototyping tools, design thinking methodology and in-depth understanding of business terminologies to build sustainable businesses or innovative services, processes and products for the region. They will work with stakeholders from various sectors, including healthcare, education, fisheries, agriculture and environment, and be coached by industry experts to create minimal viable products (MVP).
In January next, the students will pitch MVP to investors, start-up leaders, incubators and venture capitalists who may fund/support the conversion of the ideas into products, allowing students to launch their own businesses.
CII Karnataka chairman and 3M India managing director Ramesh Ramadurai, CII Mangaluru District chairman Jeevan Saldanha and past chairman Prakash Kalbavi, CII’s Industry-Academia convener and Pro Chancellor of Nitte (Deemed to be University) Vishal Hegde, SHINE director Johnson Tellis and others were present.
Mr. Saldanha said that the industry thought of encouraging entrepreneurship with a view to expanding the employment potential in the region to provide more jobs. Campus selection should not be the only priority, he said and added if the InUnity model becomes a success, it could be replicated across the country through the CII.
Mr. Ramadurai was keen on taking this model to other regions of Karnataka soon, he added.
InUnity organiser B. Hithaishy has urged entrepreneurs to join hands with the initiative.
Organisers may be contacted on Ph: 9449845968.
