|
The emerging role of Technology Business Incubators in sustaining the economy has never been felt more before than in these trying times of COVID-19. With an emphasis on their increasing role in the current context, SINE has been working relentlessly throughout the lockdown and gradual unlock phases as a stimulant in the growth and development of entrepreneurs. It has provided a solid platform for innovators to continue their work for the larger purpose of economic growth.
This Newsletter reflects SINE’s role in the current times in accelerating entrepreneurship, experiential knowledge sharing, and driver of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
|
|
Programs & Funding
CAWACH
The first phase of CAWACH, Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH), was completed successfully with Fifty-one companies selected and funded under the program out of a total of eight hundred twenty-six applications received in a nation-wide call for applications.
CAWACH is an initiative by the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India to support the innovations and startups that address COVID-19 challenges. The program aims to support startups in the areas of Diagnostics & Drugs, Disinfectants & Sanitizers, Ventilators & Medical Equipment, PPEs, and Informatics.
|
|
SASACT
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, (MeitY) came up with a funding program, Scheme for Accelerating Startups around Post COVID Technology Opportunities (SASACT) for supporting ICT based Startups. SINE is one of the Implementation Partner for the program.
|
|
PLUGIN
The SINE-DST-Intel India collaborative Program, Plugin continues to run successfully even in virtual mode. Some of the Startups supported under the program are showing growth outcomes by raising funds from investment houses.
|
|
Wobot Intelligence has raised $2.5m pre-series A funding from Sequoia India. Wobot offers video analytics for SOPs which include hygiene, safety, productivity, and customer experience to customers across industries. The funding comes at a time when there has been an increased focus on hygiene and safety due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Read More
|
|
|
Plugin startup Entropik Tech raised $8m Series-A funding led by Alpha Wave Incubation. Their platform uses facial coding, brainwave, and eye-tracking to interpret the consumers' subconscious and emotional behavior across various touchpoints for advertising, media testing, audience response and other research and insights across sectors. Read more..
|
|
|
Call for Proposals
Government partnership program continued as its usual activities. Calls for proposals were invited under various partnership :
NIDHI Program of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India
NIDHI – PRAYAS is a prototype grant up to Rs.10 lakhs for converting an idea into a prototype. NIDHI-EIR is a monthly fellowship program for young entrepreneurs.
TIDES 2.0 Program of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
Tide 2.0 is another program of MeitY that provides a prototype grant and entrepreneurship fellowship grant.
BIG of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC)
The Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) is a Proof of Concept grant for ideas in domains of biotechnology, healthcare, agritech, medical technologies, etc. SINE is a partner with BIRAC in the implementation of this BIG program of BIRAC.
|
|
Ecosystem Engagement
The Power hour with SINE series of webinars continues to engage and attract entrepreneurs and others in the ecosystem with sessions on various themes of their interest.
SINE also continues to associate with partners' events in reaching out for the benefit of startups, incubators, and larger ecosystems. Some of the themes addressed by SINE were Industry best practices for business incubation, Legal, Contracts, IP, Startup Governance, CSR, etc.
 
|
|
Startup Space
New incubation & Funding Support
We welcome the new incubates who have got incubated with us and received funding support during the time of Lockdown. The companies are in the domains ranging from Robotics, Automotive, Edutech, and Healthcare-Biotech.
Product Launches by SINE Startups
|
|
Two SINE start-ups Navork Innovations, a start-up working in the domains of nanotechnology, chemicals, textile, and material science, in association with Abstract Ideas, a design, and aesthetics start-up came together in the current pandemic situation to develop and launch their product Avran, a steriliser that can keep surface bacteria, virus-free.
|
|
|
|
Launched on the occasion of Independence, Avran is one of the products selected by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Science and Technology under an initiative called the Centre for Augmenting War with Corona virus Health crisis (CAWACH).
|
|
SINE incubate Metwiz Materials launched their product an Automatic hand sanitizer in these times of COVID - Pandemic
|
|
|
Startup and SME-Corporate Connect
SINE and S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, (SPJIMR) collaborated to bring together startups and family-managed business houses from SPJIMR with an objective to explore synergy in the space of technology and access to the market. The startups of SINE presented their innovations and business status to investors/mentors of CMG LLP.
|
|
Accolades
The Millennium Alliance is a consortium of partners including DST, Govt. of India, USAID, DFID, FICCI, Facebook, and Marico Innovation Foundation. This year the Alliance is awarding 49 Indian innovators with funding of over INR 25 Crores.
Ten SINE supported companies emerged winners under different categories of Millennium Alliance R6 & Covid19 Innovation Challenge
|
|
|
SINE Operations
SINE continues to operate in the normal course, with safety measures in place. Startups too are gradually resuming their operations in their assigned office space, encouraged by support provided by SINE staff.
|
|
Tail Piece
"Tough times never last, but tough people do"
- Robert H Schuller
|
|
|
|
|
