Friends Of MP - NY NJ

“Innovation in MP” Showcase: media coverage

4 Inspiring Leaders (CXOs), 10 Innovation companies, 300 Impressed Attendees and One Impactful day @ “Innovation in MP’- Showcase Virtual Event.

In a first ever attempt of its kind, Diaspora of a State took the initiative to showcase promising Start Ups from their state to a global audience virtually – and the effort/ event was a smashing success !!

Highlights – 4 of the 10 Presenting Companies were Women Founded/Run..

Innovation Companies include equipment maker for defense/ Indian Army , for solid waste management, OTT Platform for Indian dialects, traffic Management/AI. All from Madhya Pradesh (MP)

Mission is not an Investment Forum, but give them a platform to showcase. Investment, business Tie-ups, Mentoring, all can come out of it.

This model can be tried by other Diaspora groups also to promote Entrepreneurship in their Region

Friends of MP NYNJ held its first ever ‘Innovation in MP’ virtual event on Saturday 17th April. The maiden Zoom Event - co-organized with Consulate General of India, New York and MPIDC, MP Govt - was superbly successful in its presentation, content, attendance, impact and possibilities. Friends of MPNYNJ has been the nodal diaspora group of MP in the New York area. Starting from socio - cultural events and annual Dal-Bati Picnic, the group now also wants to support Innovation and Entrepreneurship in their native MP. “Innovation in MP” is an attempt to provide global platform for the same.

In last two months, over 150 Startup Companies from MP applied for this. Team of Friends of MP NYNJ volunteers shortlisted and did Zoom demos with 25 of them ; and then selected the final 10 Presenters. These finalists showcased diversity - in terms of business sectors, location in MP, Men/Women Founders and scale of operations. What was common for them- Innovation, Passion and desire to growth. In the Zoom Event, the 10 companies made Presentations and answered Questions virtually. This was watched by global audience of over 300 captivated attendees from 8 Nations passionate about Madhya Pradesh.

The event was graced by active participation and inspiring remarks by C P Gurnani(CEO and MD of Tech Mahindra), AbidAli Neemuchwala(Partner , Dallas V Capital, Ex CEO Wipro ), Austin Noronha (MD of Sony Innovation Fund), Arun Maheshwari(Founder PMSI/CSC Indore). All these Industry leaders have a strong bonding and affinity with MP and were very excited by future fall outs from this Event.

They shared their words of wisdom with the budding entrepreneurs, answered their questions and promised to extend all support to these and other promising ventures from Madhya Pradesh. CP Gurnani asserted “Entrepreneurship is in the blood of MP, and if this can be extrapolated, the possibilities are immense. Abidali Neemuchwala conveyed “ I am quite passionate about MP / Indore or Bhopal doing what Gurgaon or Pune or Hyd / Bangalore has done for youth, more so post COVID.” What was an highlight for attendees was an impromptu live chat between CP Gurnani and Abidali Neemuchwala, both from Neemuch, MP.

Both Arun Maheshwari and Austin Noronha expressed strong hopes of an “MP Innovation Fund”, which was reaffirmed by other panelists and participants also. The event was also addressed by Counsel General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal and MD of MPIDC, John Kingsly and reps from InvestIndia/StartUpIndia. Indian Consulate conveyed that this unique model can be followed by other Diaspora organizations also.

The two and half hour Event was appreciated for its flawless execution , great presentations by the companies and clockwork precision. To mark and celebrate diversity and Navratri, the Event started and concluded with Lady Founders and Panelists. After the main event, breakout zoom sessions were organized for a focused interaction among presenting teams, dignitaries, government officials, corporate representatives and organizers.

Friends of MP NYNJ believes that “Innovation in MP’’ Event would continue as a journey of supporting StartUp Companies from MP with mentorship, business connections and other avenues. And this could well become a movement for Diaspora and India.

Core Volunteers of Friends of MP NYNJ involved in ‘Innovation in MP’ Event include Jitendra Muchhal, Raj Bansal, Umesh Bhatia, Anupam Sarwaikar, Pankaj Gupta, Ajit Jain, Ashish Shukla, Sumeet Maheshwari, Rajiv Goyal, Sumedh Karnik, and other members.

The 10 presenting Companies :
Smarg technologies (A.I.),
Swaaha Resource Management (Waste Management),
Anaxee Digital Runners (Last mile logistics),
Technido (Defense),
Rameshwaram Worldtech (Alkaline Water),
Digisparsh (Payments )
Cutting Edge (Medical Devices),
Stage (Dialect based OTT)
Reccoty (HR) (from Jabalpur)
Clothing Innovation (Textiles)

For further details about Friends of MP NYNJ:
Please refer to www.FriendsofMPNYNJ.com or
Email to FriendsofMPNYNJ@gmail.com or
Call/message Jitendra Muchhal – 001.917.941.0493

Linked In Post about the Event