Seeking QapitaL: Maharashtra Startup Week 2021 — Get Pilots worth INR 15 Lakhs
In this edition of #SeekingQapitaL, we talk about a well known initiative by Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSINS) — Maharashtra Startup Week. Launched in 2018, it is one of the sought-after startup challenges in the country inviting startups all across the country to apply to work with the Government directly.
Maharashtra Startup Week is a unique initiative where Govt. of Maharashtra selects 24 startups each year to award work-orders worth INR 15 lakhs and offers a red-carpet for startups to work directly with the government as a customer
I caught up with Devendra Nagle, Marketing Manager at MSINS to talk about Maharashtra Startup Week 2021. We spoke about a bunch of things including role of MSINS to promote innovations in Maharashtra, various initiatives of MSINS, then we discuss Startup Week in particular and what makes it unique. We also spoke about the sectors and any criteria for startups to apply. Dev ended with a few frequently asked questions and case studies from previous editions. Hope you find this interaction useful.
And if you plan to apply to Maharashtra Startup Week 2021:
[UPDATE] The Deadline is 22nd June 2021. Website: www.msins.in
About MSINS and why was it setup
We spent the initial part talking about MSINS setup as part of Maharashtra Startup Policy in Feb 2018 with a mandate to drive initiatives to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the state to create jobs and economic growth. Some of the flagship initiatives:
- Incubator Network: 17 incubators funded across the state, many in remote allocations to support grassroot entrepreneurs.
- Maharashtra Startup Week
- Maharashtra Grand Challenge (To be launched soon — Startups invited to solve specific challenges of Govt. Depts)
- Financial Assistance to reimburse Patent and Quality Testing costs incurred by startups
About Maharashtra Grand Challenge
We spoke about Grand Challenge which is to be launched soon. Grand Challenge adopts a reverse approach than MSW, instead of first scouting startups, Grand Challenge will work with govt departments and scout problem statements first and then open it up to innovators and entrepreneurs.
Few points:
- Funding not just for procurement but also development of technologies
- Ready market available with the government departments once solution is created
- Two Departments for Pilot Edition: Pollution Control Board and Dept. of Fisheries
What makes Maharashtra Startup Week Unique?
- Public Procurement Model — Startups are not given grants, but given work-orders sponsored by MSINS to procure goods and services offered by startups.
- Red Carpet, Single Window access for Startups — MSW eliminates the usual tender approach and uses the challenge approach to select startups for procurement.
- Competitive selection process and multiple levels of screening
- Win-win: Govt. departments get to know the cutting edge solutions in the market and also offer an avenue for startup to engage with govt. directly.
- Startups across the country can apply as government wants the best innovations to come to Maharashtra
Listen to Dev here:
Sectors
Agriculture, Education, Governance, Healthcare, Mobility, Skilling, Smart Infrastructure, Sustainability (Clean Energy, Waste, Water), Miscellaneous
Case Studies from the Past
Dev spoke about two startups that have benefitted from MSW in the past:
ReCity: Extended Producer Responsibility
ReCity worked with Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on a pilot sponsored by MSINS. The department really liked the solution and decided to fund solution with their own tender subsequently. Also the startup has been able to work directly with several government departments as well as private counterparts
Haystack Analytics: MSW pilot enabling scaling to 10 countries
Haystack Analytics is a genome sequencing startup incubated by SINE-IIT Bombay. Through the pilot with MSINS and Director of Health Services, Govt of Maharashtra, startup got access to patients and datasets to make their solution effective for treatment of Tuberculosis which was later scaled to 10 countries and 10,000 pincodes in collaboration with Thyrocare.
Info about 2021 Startup Week
- Applications are live. Last date is 22nd June 2021
- Startups across India can apply
- Not for Idea stage solutions. Should have a ready solution that can be deployed
- Can apply as a proprietorship or individual entity, but one would need to create a legal entity in case they win
- Screening panel shortlist top 100 startups. Top 100 get to pitch to grand jury
- Top 24 startup selected
- MSINS team also helps with handholding of startups to navigate through government departments post selection
Timeline
- Deadline to apply: 22 June 2021
- Top 100 Announcement: Last week of July 2021
- Grand Jury: 9th August to 14th August 2021
- Piloting of Solutions: 6 to 12 months post selection
Other Support
- Incubation Partners
- Tech Partners that provide cloud credits and other goodies
- Handholding during pilot phase and access to other ecosystem partners
Hope you found this information useful. To remind again,
The last date to apply is June 22nd.
Do visit to www.msins.in to apply to Maharashtra Startup Week 2021.
Access all upcoming grants and program applications through this shared google spreadsheet.
Take care and stay safe.
Do hit me up: srikanth@qapitacorp.com
