Intintaa Innovator, a maiden campaign launched by Telangana State Innovation Cell, culminated on Thursday.
The Intintaa Innovator campaign also collaborated with Invest India for the Startup India Telangana Yatra, which was launched on September 11 with an objective to provide a platform for students and entrepreneurs in tier II and III cities to present their innovation and help them realise their startup dreams.
According to a statement from TSIC, the yatra, which covered 14 districts, witnessed a total of 624 ideas pitched, of which 201 ideas were selected for the finals.
The bootcamp held at Jyotishmathi Institute of Technology, Karimnagar, witnessed the highest number of ideas pitched till date in the Startup India Yatra across the country. Other districts visited included Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Warangal, Medak, among others.
The selected ideas then got an opportunity to participate in a two-day acceleration program that was held on October 3 and 4 at JNTU in collaboration with JNTU Innovation Hub (J-Hub). The acceleration program was supported by various incubators, T-Hub, SRiX, A-idea of NAARM, Surge Impact and UoH-TBI.
On October 4, the 201 shortlisted ideas were pitched to the final jury panel, out of which top 10 winning ideas received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each and the 10 Runner up teams got a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each. Also, all the top 20 teams were given pre-incubation offers by multiple incubators.
As part of the startup yatra, the van stops and the bootcamps conducted as part of the yatra, provided an opportunity to the students to interact with entrepreneurs and mentors and learn from their personal experiences.
The Innovation Cell also collaborated with ‘Palle Srujana’, an NGO based in Secunderabad, which supports rural innovators. Palle Srujana arranged for the exhibition of innovations by these rural innovators from across the state, in order to inspire students and others.