Nurturing Start-ups and Driving Innovation in Gwalior and Leuven via Joint Actions

Categorized as News from Asia & Australasia, News from IURC

As part of the cooperation between Gwalior, India and Leuven, Belgium, Leuven MindGate and the Flanders Business School co-funded with IURC the participation of 3 Gwalior start-up representatives and a representative from G.Incube, Mr Paritosh Goel in the And& Connect event in Leuven from 2-5 May 2023 to promote innovation, connectiveness and inspiration. The And& Connect festival brought together professionals and experts from diverse fields to explore emerging technologies, sustainable development, healthcare innovations, artificial intelligence and data privacy. The participants attended panel discussions, hands-on workshops and interactive sessions, which fostered collaborative learning environments and facilitated the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Each of the start-up representatives also had the opportunity to pitch their ideas during the relevant sessions, which attracted interest from potential investors and partners. VN Organics represented by Ms Nisha Niranjan presented about Revolutionising Sustainable Farming & Mushroom based Nutrition. Enviraj Consulting represented by Mr Rajdeep Pandey introduced A Real-time LoRa based Environmental Monitoring System for Lakes and Reservoirs and Mission Organic represented by Mr Abhisar Verma promoted an agro-ecosystem health system and practices that are economically viable, energy efficient and climate friendly. Mr. Goel introduced Gwalior’s start-up ecosystem and discussed start-up opportunities with a number of stakeholders.

The delegates also had additional meetings with KU Leuven, a university known for its innovation, where start-ups discussed their farm-to-fork ideas and gained insights on the EU start-up industry. They also visited a Biodynamic Farm and saw firsthand the sustainable yet technologically advanced farming practices employed and the importance of encouraging local farmers towards fostering sustainable food production practices. Many other collaborative meetings and informative sessions were conducted with organisations such as Hydroko and VITO, which provided potential avenues for future projects, partnerships, and growth for the start-ups. 

As one of the participants mentioned: “Participation in the &Connect event in Leuven helped broaden the Indian start-up network and provided potential avenues for future projects and growth.”

Media 

Three promising Indian start-ups present at And& Connect Festival