Third edition of Maharashtra Startup Week concludes; 24 winning startups to receive government work orders

Pune-based startup Greenovative Energy Pvt Ltd was onboarded by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) for the implementation of Electrical Asset Monitoring System at multiple substations in Pune recently to monitor and determine wastage in energy consumption with identification of specific energy wastage area.

SatSure, a Bangalore-based startup, deployed its remote sensing and data analytics capabilities to predict yield of crops and possibility of pest infestation as part of advisories issued to Project of Climate Resilient Agriculture (PoCRA) field staff in five districts of Maharashtra.

These two are just a few of the numerous impactful success stories that have emerged from the Maharashtra Startup Week — a one-of-a-kind platform for early-stage startups to scale up and pilot projects with the government. As winners of previous editions, these two startups were selected to partner with the state government to bring change on-ground with their innovative solutions.

This was made possible by the Maharashtra Startup Week — one of the key initiatives of innovative startup policy of Maharashtra government. Launched in 2018, this is an initiative to provide a platform to the vast entrepreneurial talent in the state and across the country. The annual event aims to support the startups with work orders to pilot their solutions with relevant government departments and provide an opportunity for various stakeholders of the startup ecosystem to connect and network with each other.

Now in its third edition, Maharashtra Startup Week, which concluded on August 8th, offered a unique opportunity for early-stage startups working in sectors across education and skilling, agriculture, healthcare, sustainability, smart infrastructure and mobility and governance.

In the current scenario, where physical events and meetups are not in the best interest of everyone’s health, Maharashtra State Innovation Society, the nodal body for boosting startup ecosystem in Maharashtra, took on the challenge and shifted the entire event online — right from the pitches to judging to the grand finale.

Virtual pitches

With the help of multiple screening partners, the 1600+ startups who applied for the Maharashtra Startup Week 2020 were shortlisted to Top 100. These 100 startups showcased their solutions to a panel of judges comprising representatives from the government, industry, academia and investor community.

Multiple sector-specific virtual sessions were held where these 100 startups pitched their innovative ideas. The sessions were also attended by senior Ministers from the Government of Maharashtra like Shri Subhash Desai, Shri Jayant Patil, Shri Satej (Bunty) Patil, etc. apart from more than 15 senior IAS / IPS officers.

Grand finale and winner announcement

The virtual grand finale kicked-off with an opening address by Smt. Sujata Saunik, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department followed by speeches from Shri Shambhuraj Desai, Hon’ble Minister of State, Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department; Shri Nawab Malik, Hon’ble Minister, Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department. These inspiring speeches were followed by the announcement of Maharashtra Startup Week 2020 winners in their august presence.

A total of 24 startups were chosen as winners across multiple sectors who will receive work orders of up to Rs 15 lakh from the Maharashtra State Innovation Society to pilot their solutions within different state departments. Moreover, the startups will also receive support in terms of access to government machinery and mentoring from its institutional partners for a period of up to 12 months to deploy their solutions on the ground.

The names of the top 24 winning startups can be found here

The Maharashtra Startup Week aims to establish “Government as a Platform” to achieve the dual objective of not only improving citizen services but also leveraging and nurturing the thriving startup ecosystem with opportunities for growth and collaboration. Winning startups from the last two editions of the Maharashtra Startup Week have successfully piloted projects with various government departments to help mitigate social challenges and bring innovation in governance.