CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) Entrepreneurship Cell is hosting the ninth edition of its annual ‘Entrepreneurship Summit’ from 7th to 10th March 2024 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
E-Summit 2024 featuring 50+ highly notable speakers and 50+ events spread across four conclaves: Youth Conclave, Innovators’ Conclave, Start-up Conclave anchored by Vi Business, and Start-up Essentials Conclave anchored by Trilegal.
It is the first-ever student-run entrepreneurial gathering in India to have received ISO, Startup India, and UNESCO certifications. The Summit will feature 1000+ founders, 50+ investors and 15000+ students from over 400 colleges, across India.
Addressing a Press Conference today (7th March 2024) to highlight the events’ importance in boosting entrepreneurship in the country, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Innovation & Entrepreneurship is the most important building block for Viksit Bharat @ 2047. Through this Summit IIT Madras aspires to bring in several young entrepreneurs, VCs, academia, industry and government together to march towards a Technology Super power India.”
E-Summit 2024 will also host a free-for-all Start-up Expo, a grand showcase event expected to provide a platform to 100 innovative start-ups to present their cutting-edge products and services to an audience of over 15,000.
Speaking about this year’s E-Summit, Prof. Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, said, “The Entrepreneurship Cell is an initiative spearheaded by students with the aim of sharing insights on entrepreneurship and encouraging networking among emerging entrepreneurs. The E-Summit stands as a major event hosted by the E-Cell team. The 9th E-Summit is planned as an in-person event, providing a valuable platform for numerous students and entrepreneurs to interact and connect directly.”
WestBridge Capital, an investment firm based in San Mateo, U.S.A.; 1990 Alumni Batch of IIT Madras, SBI Start-up Branch, IIT Madras Research Park, and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Ltd. the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturing company are supporting the event.
Speaking about this edition of E-Summit, Dr. Richa Agarwal, Faculty Advisor, E-Cell, IIT Madras, said, “Over the last few years, India’s start-up ecosystem has played an outsized role in driving economic growth and innovation by creating job opportunities, attracting investments, disrupting traditional industries, introducing new technologies and business models, and contributing to the overall transformation of India. We are witnessing a true paradigm shift, where our young entrepreneurs are challenging long held beliefs and embracing newfound opportunities like never before. The upcoming E-Summit is a perfect opportunity for our budding entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative solutions for real-world challenges, and seek out joint ventures, mentorship platforms and funding opportunities.”
Discussing the advantages for participating in the summit, Mr. Soham Sawde, Student Head, Entrepreneurship Cell-IIT Madras, highlighted the educational focus of the event, stating, “We are anticipating the attendance of 15,000 students at the E-Summit. We are particularly focused on ensuring that these attendees gain valuable entrepreneurial knowledge through an array of lectures, workshops, and enjoyable competitions designed to enhance their learning experience.”
Adding on to these points, Mr. Sushanth Shenoy, also a Students’ Head of E-Cell, IIT Madras, said, “This year’s E-Summit has a series of meticulously designed events aimed at assisting tech founders in navigating the complex landscapes of finance, legal, and tax challenges. Recognizing that these critical areas often receive less attention than they deserve, E-Summit is placing a strong emphasis on providing the knowledge and resources necessary for start-ups to flourish.”
E-Summit 2024 also brings forth the seventh edition of the prestigious pan-India fund-raising competition: ‘Elevate’ – that has seen the participation of close to 800 start-ups from various domains. ‘Elevate’ brings together eminent start-ups and 35+ Venture Capital Firms from across the nation, like Titan Capital, Speciale Invest, GVFL, and 100X.
This E-Summit will also feature the ninth edition of ‘Bootcamp,’ a Start-up Accelerator Program. The event has witnessed the participation of 500 early-stage start-ups across 4 tracks – Fintech, Emerging Technologies, Geological Technologies, and Sector Agnostic. Conglomerates like Aditya Birla Ventures and SIDBI are supporting the event, along with national incubators such as, NSRCEL, Deshpande Start-ups and Foundership.
E-Summit’24 also features a series of ‘Inspirit lectures’ and ‘Masterclasses’ by industry leaders from across sectors highlighting their personal travails in grappling with the central theme of the summit. This year’s line-up will include:
- Mr. Ankur Warikoo, Content Creator, Serial Entrepreneur
- Mr. Anand Srinivasan, Co-Founder & CIO, Akasa Air
- Mr. Virendra Gupta, Founder and CEO, Dailyhunt (VerSe)
- Mr. Abhinandan Sekhri, Co-Founder, Newslaundry
- Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan, Founder, CEO & Chairman, Rediff
- Ms. Radhika Ghai, Co-Founder, Shopclues
- Mr. Aniket Deb, Co-Founder &COO, Bizongo
- Mr. Aakash Kumar, Managing Director, Matrix Partners India
- Mr. Rahul Seth, VC Investor, Antler
