SRINAGAR, JUNE 13: The Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Business Modelling (CIIBM) of Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) organized stakeholder meet under J&K Startup Policy at its main Campus Pampore.
The session was chaired by the Director, JKEDI, Mohammad Younus Malik, and brought together key stakeholders from academia, industry, incubation centres, financial institutions, and the startup ecosystem to deliberate on strengthening entrepreneurship and innovation across the Union Territory.
The meeting served as a platform for meaningful discussions on enhancing the startup ecosystem through targeted mentorship, improved market access, stronger institutional collaborations, and sustained support mechanisms for entrepreneurs.
Participants emphasized that while access to seed funding remains important, the long-term success of startups depends equally on continuous mentoring, business development support, financial prudence, market linkages, and professional guidance.
Deliberations also focused on nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset from an early age through the introduction of entrepreneurship education in schools, promotion of innovation and tinkering labs, and creation of opportunities for young innovators to experiment and develop problem-solving skills. Stakeholders highlighted the need for robust incubation frameworks, stronger proof-of-concept development, and platforms that enable startups to validate ideas, refine business models, and scale effectively.
The discussions further underscored the importance of collaborative efforts among JKEDI, educational institutions, incubation centres, industry partners, and financial institutions to address challenges related to commercialization, investment readiness, and business scalability. The pivotal role of JKEDI in facilitating connections between startups, investors, mentors, markets, and other ecosystem stakeholders was widely appreciated.
The Stakeholder Meet concluded with a shared resolve to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and innovation-driven startup ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir, aligned with the vision and objectives of the J&K Startup Policy and aimed at creating sustainable opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs across the region.
Among the distinguished participants were Dr. Parvez Mir from CIED, IUST Awantipora; Muheet Mehraj of Kashmir Box; Syed Ashfaq from Cred Agro; Abdul Rouf Khan of SKUAST-Kashmir; representatives from SKIIE, IIT Jammu, SKUAST-Jammu, University of Jammu, NIT Srinagar, besides several startup founders and ecosystem enablers.
