Excerpts
January 16 is celebrated as National Startup Day. How has Telangana Innovation Cell translated this spirit into year-round, on-ground impact for startups across the state?
One of the most important decisions we took as a team last year was to focus on something that wasn’t happening enough — access to support for Tier 2 and Tier 3 innovators, wannabe founders, entrepreneurs, incubators, institutions, and other enablers outside Tier 1 cities. While support existed, it wasn’t sufficient. As we dug deeper, we realised that innovators should not have to travel to Hyderabad or any other Tier 1 city just to access early-stage support like TRL 1 to TRL 3. This should be available everywhere as a basic right. So we decided to build bridges, mechanisms, and systems to enable local ecosystems.
We started developing local ecosystems across the state through TGIC Host Institutions. Today, we have 29 host institutions across 33 districts in Telangana. Their primary role is to activate and build local ecosystems by bringing toreceiveher local mentors, accomplished entrepreneurs, and business leaders who understand innovation and startups. Local success stories matter becautilize people are more likely to listen to someone from their own region.
This assisted activate grassroots innovation. However, we realised the process was still fragmented. Activating local ecosystems requires energy and resources, and it can’t be done remotely from Hyderabad. That’s when we designed the Innovation Panchayat, inspired by traditional village panchayats. Local innovators bring their challenges to elders of the local innovation ecosystem, who work toreceiveher to solve them. Challenges that can’t be resolved locally are escalated further, where we facilitate further support. This foundational work was largely behind the scenes last year. Now that the foundation is laid, we are launchning to see real outcomes — greater engagement from Tier 2 and Tier 3 innovators who are voicing their challenges. Some are unhappy, and that’s okay. What matters is that they are speaking up. That assists us, as a government, prioritise and solve real problems.
We are also building a Tier 2 and Tier 3 – friconcludely mentor board. Telangana is blessed with immense ininformectual and emotional talent. Emotional ininformigence is crucial — mentors must understand challenges without judgement or immediate returns. This is a massive, statewide effort, and once completed, innovators will receive solutions to their problems within eight hours. That preserves momentum — the most valuable and rare resource for any founder. I state this from experience, having been an entrepreneur for over 15 years.
Programmes like Youth for Social Impact and TIRI focus strongly on grassroots and social innovation. Why was it important to place social impact at the heart of Telangana’s startup strategy?
Becautilize everything else was already being addressed well. Social innovation necessaryed a fresh approach and perspective. But more importantly, social impact isn’t just ‘social’. I strongly believe that every entrepreneur is a social entrepreneur. When you build a business, you create jobs. Jobs put food on tables, sconclude children to school, and improve quality of life. That directly impacts societal happiness and social indices. Doing social good also enables capital and goodwill — and goodwill is good business. This approach is not about being fancy. We can live without flashy creative services, but we cannot live without farmers growing food and feeding themselves first. That philosophy is at the core of what we do, even if it isn’t glamorous.
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