Odisha is the favorite destination for investors: Industry Minister

Bhubaneswar: Calling Odisha as a favorite destination for investors, Industries Minister Shri Pratap Keshari Deb urged young minds of the state to take entrepreneurship seriously. Attending Startup Odisha’s ‘Fundstack 2.0’ as a chief guest, which is a startup-investor connect program where 20 startups selected through a rigorous process from shortlisted 100 startups have got the opportunity to impress investors by presenting their innovative ideas to 20 investors. This two days program held in Bhubaneswar and Puri.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister emphasized on institutionalizing the culture of entrepreneurship in young minds and plug gaps in the ecosystem. Fundstack will create a platform that builds an engaging relationship between startup & investor. He also solicited suggestions from the invited panel of investors which shall help Startup Odisha to further develop the ecosystem of the State.m

Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai said that Fundstack is not just a platform that facilitates investment for startups but also a forum for capacity building and investment readiness which enables the participating startups to raise funds from private investors who in turn lead the startups on the trajectory of growth and scaling businesses.

Principal Secretary of MSME Smt Ranjana Chopra talked about the progressive & investor friendly Startup Ecosystem in Odisha and remarked that through Fundstack 2.0 the state shall gear up the Startup Community to be ready for the Make in Odisha Conclave which plans to bring investors across the globe into Odisha.

The first edition of Fundstack was held virtually in 2021 over 200 startups gained business insights from over 20 eminent Angel Investors. The second edition was announced this year by Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik on 26^th August 2022. This year it was a 2 day pitching & networking event to attract investments for startups. This program planned as a precursor to the upcoming Make In Odisha 2022 which to be held from 30^th Nov -4^th Dec.

CEO of Startup Odisha, Md. Sadique Alam has delivered welcome address and program was followed by an interactive session between Investors & Senior Government. During this session the Odisha Startup Growth Fund (Funds of Funds) was presented by Dr Sanjukta Badhai, Evangelist, Startup Odisha.

On the second day, the investors joined on a round table meet at the Mayfair Heritage Resort, Puri, where they emphasized on private equity investment to fuel the growth in startup sector. This grand engaging event of two days concluded with one on one meeting between the selected startups and the investors.