Startup Odisha is organising a two-day fest, Start-up Mela 2023, with an aim to showcase the prowess of Odisha’s start-up ecosystem and orient youth toward start-ups, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The fest will be held at O-Hub, the incubation center in Bhubaneswar on January 15 and 16, 2023 and is reportedly Startup Odisha’s bid to expand its outreach among the students in various institutes, colleges, business schools (B-school), and schools spread across the state so that youth can develop an inclination towards startups and dwell on prospects in this domain.
Besides students and budding entrepreneurs, other stakeholders of the start-up ecosystem like industry leaders, incubators, academicians, policymakers, investors and more have been invited. The two-day event will be hosting interactive activities for students' engagement and to help them understand the ecosystem better.
The initiative in its attempt to directly reach out to the students across campuses has identified some bright students as campus ambassadors who apart from being prospective start-ups would also add value to the start-up ecosystem of Odisha. Campus ambassadors would act as a bridge between their respective academic institutions and Startup Odisha.
These campus ambassadors will be felicitated in Mela and would be encouraged to come up with new and sparkling ideas in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The fest will also be hosting 'Ask Subroto Bagchi'— a program where Subroto Bagchi, chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) and an entrepreneur, would interact and share insights about the industry with young entrepreneurs and students.
The initiative will also be bringing industry leaders of the state to connect them directly with students and start-ups so that they can become part of the ecosystem and contribute to it. Industry leaders from Ruchi Foodline, Falcon Marine Exports Limited, OvoFarm, and Z Estates will reportedly participate in the fest.
Some of the other activities scheduled for Day 1 of the event are, an exhibition of various start-ups across industries and sectors, a hackathon for students, experience sharing sessions by various start-ups, a roundtable discussion with incubators, a masterclass on legal and intellectual property (IP) compliances, a start-up quiz for students, a panel discussion with investors and a start-up pitching session.
On Day 2, a reverse pitching session with incubators, a panel discussion with government departments, a masterclass on branding and marketing, a debate competition for students, a leadership talk by industry leaders, awards and felicitations including felicitation of campus ambassadors are some of the activities scheduled for the day.
