First Northeast Entrepreneurs’ Dialogue hosted by AIC-SMUTBI

AIC – SMU Technology Business Incubator organized “Northeast Entrepreneurs Dialogue (NEED 1.0): Accelerating Startup Growth Engine” on February 11 at SMIT Campus, Majitar in collaboration with Startup India, DPIIT and Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of Sikkim. Hosted by , 2023.
The event was attended by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Aditya Tamang, MLA, Sureng-Chakhung; attended in the presence of Karma R Bangpo (IAS), Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industry GoS, and Lt Gen (Dr) Rajan S Grewal, Vice Chancellor SMU.
The North East Industrialists’ Dialogue (N.E.E.D) was conceived to discuss issues, challenges and ways to mitigate them between the government and industrialists of all the states of North East India. It will also serve as a common platform for all startup founders in the region to come together and share their journey and experiences in building their venture.As a result, the government can step in to provide policy details and support to grassroots entrepreneurs in remote corners of the country in the eastern region.
The event was attended by many dignitaries and officials and representatives of startups from all the states of Northeast India, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Delhi and Startup India, DPIIT and Government of Sikkim, Manipur.

Some of the key activities of the programs were the Founders Hustle where co-founders had conversations among peers and helped each other to align and work together to accelerate their growth, one-on-one mentor sessions, Expert Talk Sessions etc.
The highlight of the program was a one-on-one session with Piyush Goyal, who shared with startup founders the challenges, especially A.I. in the fields of applications. In industry, parking of EV vehicles in public places like railway stations and airports, opportunities in the bamboo field in the Northeast, etc. The session was also moderated by Yougan Tamang, founder of the startup Unica Infotainment Private Limited.
In his address, the Minister also highlighted the importance of maintaining the pristine status of Sikkim and North East India and focused on the USP of Sikkim as a high value tourist destination. Reduction in transportation and logistics costs to benefit local producers to move beyond state boundaries.Piyush Goyal specifically mentioned that India should strive to produce world-class products where good standards are not limited to exports. According to him, every consumer of the country should have access to quality products. To the people of Sikkim, he requested not to let Sikkim’s status as a 100% organic state slip, and hoped that the annual income from organic products of Rs 8 crore would reach Rs 800 crore in years.
Startups pitched at AIC-SMUTBI also got an opportunity to showcase their products, which was highly appreciated by the minister. Some of the startups that demonstrated their products include Cas Collective, Turuk Garden, Akumen AI, Encamp Adventures, Nibiaa Devices, and Turbit Virtual Reality.
Dr. Tej Chingtham, CEO-AIC-SMUTBI in his address expressed the need of a platform like NEED as the need of the hour in Northeast India and also make it an annual or semi-annual dialogue as this platform plays an important role. can A two-way channel is an open direct communication channel for businessmen and government.