India chapter of Sikh American Chamber inks MoU with US-based UP Global

Together, they hope to reach out to more and more aspiring entrepreneurs in Chandigarh and Panjab.

In order to promote entrepreneurship in the northern region, the India Centre of Sikh American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) based at Chandigarh has partnered with Seattle (USA)-based UP Global, known for its ‘Startup Weekend’ programs. Through these programmes the Chamber will engage in promoting entrepreneurship, offering trade and business opportunities, through networking and exchange of young professionals, startups and students.

UP Global is a not-for-profit organisation and is world’s leading partner of Google for Entrepreneurs, engaged in fostering entrepreneurship, developing leaders and innovators, and creating a global community to empower each other.

The Startup Weekend, is the flagship program of UP Global and is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs. The program would be organised by SACC India in various parts of northern region, the first one to be organized in Mohali in the second week of July.

Taking a step forward, the chamber and UP Global  signed a memorandum of understanding in Chandigarh to use the synergy of both the organisations with similar mission reaching out to more and more aspiring entrepreneurs in Chandigarh and Panjab.

Punjab has always remained a hub of innovative enterprise and this partnership with UP Global would help SACC India to provide them a structured pathway of converting their ideas into workable profitable enterprises, said Manipal Dhariwal, President of SACC India.

Punjabis have succeeded all over the world and it would be an exciting opportunity to help inspire the new generation of entrepreneurs from this region, said Marc Nager , CEO of UP Global.

As part of SACC’s mission to develop entrepreneurship, SACC India is also setting up a social incubation centre at Mohali, where the successful ideas identified at the Startup Weekend would get ready space to transform them into successful enterprises, Manipal said.The incubator would also be launched in July, he informed.

We are looking at developing next rung of entrepreneurial champions to develop socially relevant products, improve the lives of the people, and drive economic growth, Adam Stelle the COO of UP Global said.

Sikh American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) is a community-based organisation having been founded three years back in New Jersey, USA, which has chapters at New York, Seattle, California and Kentucky, besides the India Centre, which is also the Global Secretariat of SACC’s operations worldwide.  The mission of SACC is to network the successful Punjabi community settled in USA with their roots back home in Punjab, empower the professionals and youth through entrepreneurship skills, and network them to the global opportunities. India Centre of SACC was opened in January 2014.