India: Government boosts food and agri-tech startups

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM)’s technology business incubator a-IDEA launched ‘Agri Udaan’, a food and agribusiness accelerator 2.0 along with IIM Ahmedabad’s Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).

This is a government initiative to promote innovation in agriculture and help startups gain mentorship and connect with potential investors.

This six-month programme will help selected startups with a working prototype scale up their operations in the agri value chain for effective improvement in agriculture. The program will also help them gain initial market traction.

Food and Agri Business startups that are at the scale-up stage and are developing innovative products or services will be eligible. They also need to have a full-time core team ready with a working prototype for customer validation with some initial customer traction for the product or service.

Shortlisted startups also stand a chance to get up to Rs 25 Lakh (39,000 USD) funding.

Read more at The News Minute