[Photo Sparks] From sand to silicon: the first ever Startup Rajasthan Festival!

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this showcase, we feature the entrepreneurs exhibiting at the first ever Startup Rajasthan Festival in Jaipur!

In the earlier 60 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

Jaipur was host to two terrific startup events this week – YourStory’s TechSparks city meetup (more on that later!) and the first ever Startup Rajasthan Festival, with two days of expo, conference and workshops. The government announced a Startup Policy, becoming the fourth state in India to have such a policy (after Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat).

“Entrepreneurship is in the blood of Rajasthan,” said Arun Nanda of the Mahindra group.  Rajesh Agarwal, MD, MicroMax, offered a range of lessons from his own startup journey, with included India-specific innovations such as a dual-SIM phone and a low-cost QWERTY phone. “Love what you do and build it further. Quickly learn from your mistakes,” he said.

“India’s biggest strength for entrepreneurs is its wide range of problems to solve,” joked Nagaraja Prakasam, co-founder of IAN Impact. India also has a huge youth dividend, which bodes well for its startup ecosystem. “70% of India’s population is less than 32 years old,” said Gajendra Singh Khimsar, Industries Minister, Rajasthan.

“For entrepreneurs to succeed, they need inspiration, innovation and scale,” said Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister, Rajasthan. In addition to the high-level pronouncements from government, there was lots of energy at the startup exhibition area outside.

In this photo showcase, we feature the new wave of innovation in Rajasthan from a range of startups: WebXPress, BoostMySale, VakilSearch, RoughApple, Aha3D, Living Greens, UniCommerce, LiftDoLiftLo, Propterry, CureAdviser, YET, Awakey, Thalagiri, HippoCabs, StartupBuddy, Bharat Helpline, Houssup, Srjna, DynaCorp, DesignGhar and Family Orbit!

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.