Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | 3rd January 2022: iCreate (International Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship), Indiaʼs leading innovation-based start-up incubator, has announced its esteemed jury panel for the grand finale of its maiden EV challenge – EVangeliseʼ 21. The final evaluation and the announcement of the top 3 winners will be done at the Vibrant Gujarat Start-up Summit – 2022 (VGSS) that is being hosted at iCreate.
EVangelise was a three stage, international challenge over a period of seven months that was open to start-ups, college students, research institutions, independent innovators and EV enthusiasts with innovations pertaining to 2&3-wheeler electric vehicle sub-components. The idea of creating a grand challenge unique to the EV segment in India stemmed from the estimated increase in EV adoption in the commercial market. Through this, iCreate is well positioned to be an integral part in the countryʼs transition to EVs by fostering innovations that are sophisticated, energy-efficient, and sustainable for the Indian market.
The jury lineup includes industry leaders like Mr. Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO Ather Energy, Mr. Stefan Louis, CEO, Exide Leclanche, Mr. Parag Amin, Founder and Chief Mentor, iCreate, Mr. Kartikey Hariyani, Founder, TecSo CHARGE+ZONE, Vice Chairperson of Kinetic Engineering Limited, Founder & CEO of Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Limited, Mr. Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate and other mentors and leaders from the industry. The shortlisted start-ups will make their elevated pitches to the jury members within the stipulated time limit of 5 minutes, followed by Q&A session around the feasibility and market relevance of their innovation.
Commenting on the jury line up and the upcoming Grand finale of EVangeliseʼ21, Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate said, “This challenge was envisaged to bring all the key stakeholders in the EV ecosystem – innovators, ecosystem players, government, and academia together to bring about a huge disruption in the current way the market is functioning, and we believe that the impact generated from this initiative will be the catalyst to transform India into a world leader in 2W/3W EVʼs over a 3-to-5-year time span.”
“This yearʼs VGSS is hinged on the axle of ‘From Aatmanirbhar Gujarat to Aatmanirbhar Bharatʼ. This is aligned to iCreateʼs vision to accomplish consistent and strategic interventions across all stages of a start-up – starting from ideation to market entry, enabling a thriving start-up ecosystem for India, from Gujarat. We couldnʼt find a better stage to felicitate the winning entrepreneurs than the very stage of VGSS where the world comes together to laud Indiaʼs disruptors and innovators,” he added.
VGSS is a precursor event to the coveted Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, a biennial investors’ summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, that is solely focused on nurturing Indiaʼs burgeoning start-up ecosystem. This edition of VGSS is centralised on ʻStart-ups: Inspiring Disruptive Innovationsʼ and will aim to highlight India and Gujaratʼs start-up, innovation and entrepreneurial potential. With this increased focus on Gujaratʼs start-up ecosystem, iCreate is poised to be the front runner in bringing forth the next generation of entrepreneurs through innovative challenges and programs like EVangelise.
A total of INR 88.5 lakh will be given as assured cash prizes to winners across four innovation categories and three stages. The top 3 winners will get INR 10 lakh, INR 7.5 lakh and INR 5 lakh cash prizes respectively, besides assured incubation support of INR 50 lakh each, market connections and industry mentorship.
