IIM Sambalpur onboards 30 Startups in its Incubation Program

Sambalpur: IIM Sambalpur, one of the premier management institutions, onboarded 30 start-ups during the inauguration ceremony of the annual business conclave Marmagya 9.0 in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry at its campus with the theme (Re) defining Horizons: Strategic Partnerships for Business Excellence.

The conclave aims to bring together industry leaders and academicians to engage in insightful discussions on emerging business trends and challenges. The conclave is attended by 35 top industry leader such as C-Suite: Partnership- Driven Leadership for Building- impact Performance, ‘IT& Consulting: Techno fusion- Human-Machine Collaboration, ‘Finance: Innovative Finance- New Horizons Through Strategic Alliance, ‘Marketing: The power of Co-Branding – Creative Value Proposition, ‘Operation: Operational Excellence Through Strategic Alliance’ and HR, Employment Branding Through Strategic Partnership.  

Under the Incubation and Acceleration Program 2024-25, which is the first program of IHub – Incubation Center of IIM Sambalpur, out of 70 applications, 30 start-ups have been onboarded for mentorship, training, and other support.  From which, 19 of these start-ups are from Odisha. Among the selected handloom start-ups are Sukanti Handloom Pvt Ltd, founded by Sukanti Meher from Bargarh and Prasanta Enterprise, which focuses on producing sanitary pads for women and is led by Payal Patel from Jharsuguda.

With rapid economic growth, there is a surge in collaboration across sectors, driven by initiatives like Make in India and the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. Globally, businesses are forming alliances to tackle changes, manage supply chain disruption and accelerate technological advancements.

During the inaugural ceremony, Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, emphasizing upon importance of strategic alliances during the inaugural ceremony, said “In business no one is enemy, world’s biggest companies have collaborated with each other.  This year’s theme of Marmagya is ‘Strategic partnerships for Business Excellence’ which is the essence of economic growth and will play a pivotal role in increasing India’s contribution in global economy.  He also welcome all the 30 startups who were present for signing the MoUs during the inaugural session.

Chief Guest, Prem Singh, National President – Group HR, JK Organisation, NHRDN, said, “Strategic partnerships are the cornerstone of any modern business model. These partnerships enable organizations to leverage a collection of strengths in each other, mutual value creation, and innovation. In today’s interdependent and interconnected world, this strong alliance constitutes the difference between thriving or merely surviving. The Indian economy has shown tremendous resilience and growth as its GDP has risen by $1 trillion in just a few years. The prospect looks vast projecting a sevenfold increase by 2050. This tech growth is driven by the young population-cum-tech-savvy generation and a surge in entrepreneurial spirit.”

The event featured Gouri Kalra, Associate Director of Sales at Taj Hotels, as the keynote speaker while Avinash Rao, Managing Director of Liveswitch Inc., attended as the Guest of Honour.  Prof. Shikha Bhardwaj, Marmagya Chair, delivered vote of thanks.