The second edition of the International Entrepreneurship Conclave aimed at bringing Nepali and Indian entrepreneurs together is set to be held here on January 19.
The Embassy of India and Clock b Business Innovations confirmed the dates and the venue of the event, also known as 'Connect [IN]', at a presser on Wednesday.
The first edition was successfully held on March 24 last year by the Embassy of India and Clock b. It brought together over 400 Nepali and Indian start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, aspiring youths, experts, high ranking Nepali and Indian government officials and representatives from media, and provided a common platform for the exchange of innovative ideas between the entrepreneurial communities of the two countries.
"We did this event and there were more than 400 entrepreneurs from Nepal that participated in the event. We reached to about 20,000 to 25,000 people from Nepal who were connected through our digital campaign last year and on the other side almost three times this year so far we are working on the number of registration of the people, in terms of people who have shown interest to participate. That is the reason we are more confident about this event that it would be much better," said Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh Second Secretary (Commerce & Commercial Representative) at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.
The theme of the conference is 'To connect the great entrepreneurial minds of Nepal & India' and it aims at building market connections between start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, marketers, lawyers, auditors, government, universities/ colleges, mentors, advisors, corporate leaders, incubators/accelerators, development partners and business enthusiasts.
At the conference, young entrepreneurs can connect with investors, venture capitalists and mentors and discuss with entrepreneurial ecosystem actors. It also presents an opportunity for them to learn from prominent entrepreneurial journeys and network with fellow entrepreneurs from India and Nepal.
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One of the core objectives of Connect [IN] initiative, according to the organisers, is to scout start-ups, provide them with training and mentorship in the incubation programme, and finally take the most promising start-ups to the finale.
After a year-long social media campaign, outreach activities and partnerships and receiving hundreds of applications, the top 21 ideas were selected for the seven-day 'Start-up Incubation Programme'.
The organisers then took those 21 start-ups through 'Idea Auditions' and finally, the six most promising ideas were selected for the finale to pitch their ideas in front of investors, media and entrepreneurs from Nepal and India.
The top six ideas that will be appearing in the finale are 'Airlift', 'Swadeshi Innovations', 'Maker Valley', 'Unschool', 'Offering Happiness' and 'Walkman', informed the organisers.
Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri will address the event as the inaugural speaker.
Other speakers at the event include, Founder of YouFirst Ventures & TransAsia Ventures Vikrant Gugnani, CEO for India and South Asia, OYO Hotels & Homes Aditya Ghosh, Co-Founder and Managing Director, IME Group Hem Raj Dhakal, CEO of Prisma Advertising Ranjit Acharya, President at King's College Narottam Aryal, CEO of Sushmit Group Sushil Pokharel, Second Secretary, Embassy of India Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh amongst others.
The organisers have stated that more than 1000 entrepreneurs, start-ups, and students have already registered for the conclave.
The second edition of Connect[IN] is co-organised by Clock b Business innovations and Embassy of India. The initiative is powered by SJVN and BlincVentures.com, who are the premier sponsor. The initiative is also supported by OYO Rooms as the hospitality partner, National Insurance as the insurance partner, Nepal Tourism Board as the tourism partner, Upasarga Technologies and technology partner, King's College as the knowledge partner, Udaan as the magazine partner and Daaqi as the logistics partner.