Four startups run by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi students have each won a Rs 50 lakh award from the institution’s Endowment Nurture Fund.
IIT Delhi established the Endowment Nurture Fund in 2019 and has raised approximately Rs 169 crore, according to director Rangan Bannerjee. It intends to use the fund to provide graduating students with seed money for their planned companies.
The four startups are ‘Circle,’ a financial wellness product for businesses that provides daily salary and low-cost retirement to their employees; ‘Bag-it,’ an on-demand platform for wholesalers that digitises the jewellery supply chain for retailers; ‘I-Stem,’ which provides digital content accessibility solutions; and ‘Onpery,’ which aims to make green menstruation adaptable and accessible to the masses.
A panel of IIT-Delhi alumni, including Alok Mittal, co-founder and CEO of Indifi Tech, Alok Goyal, partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, and Parag Dhol, general partner at Athera Venture Partners, chose the startups.
“The grant gives IIT Delhi’s student teams a cushion to take risks and experiment with innovative ideas, products, and business models, which helps spread the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among the student community,” said Mr. Anurag Rastogi, CEO of the IIT Delhi Endowment Management Foundation.
