Startups and Tackling Unemployment: An Insight into the STPI with Ashish Sharma

Introduction: The interview deals with the functioning of STPI, infrastructure availability and role played by it in supporting Startups as well as solving unemployment problem in the country.

Summary: Software Technology Park of India (STPI) is a Central Government organisation under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. STPI was established in 1991. STPI provides “all sorts of support” to small companies (now called Start-Ups) including incubation, space, financial resources, labs for experiments etc.

Initially, objective of the STPI was to incubate Start-Ups including help in software exports from the country. During 90s, Infosys, now the software giant, took help from STPI. Earlier, when manufacturing sector was in its nascent stage, STPI used to help import IT equipment for those small companies.

Similarly, the companies dealing with IT sector were facing problems in tracking their software merchandise and accordingly, STPI provided assistance to track software merchandise of these companies. Earlier, STPI even used to provide some tax rebate to Start-Ups which were associated with STPI, but now this system ‘tax rebate’ has been partially withdrawn. 

As the scope for creation of job in Government and private sector is limited for solving the ever-increasing unemployment problem, Government invested in creation of Start-Ups. STPI started functioning in mission mode to support Startups. The STPI also launched ‘Digital North East-2022’ as parallel to creation of limited jobs in Government and private sector to cope-up with unemployment problem in NE region.

Government opened 24 Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoE-comprising a panel of experts) across India, including eight (8/OctaNE) in NE region, one each in capital city of eight states of NER. These CoEs are being run under the supervision of STPI.

These CoEs provide expert opinions / guidance to students / Start-Ups in need basis. Each such CoE has one particular focus area, such as, health technology, financial technology, AI, animation etc, including one at Guwahati ‘IOT’ (Internet of Things). The IOT particularly focusing on providing support in agriculture sector. Before opening such CoEs, a survey was carried out and CoEs with different focus areas matching the local needs of a particular state were established.

According to the STPI, there are 1000 plug-in-space counters available in NE region including 200 in Guwahati which people can use.

About the Interviewee: Mr Ashish Sharma is currently working as the chief operating officer at OctaNE centre of Entrepreneurship at STPI GUWAHATI. He has graduated in Engineering and Post graduated in Business Administration. He has over 18 years of experience in various spectrum of areas such as Market Analysis, consulting, Business Development etc and has proven success leading strategy and developing new business.

The Interview

Q: “Could you brief me about the selection process of STPI?”

A: “We organize open challenge events and collaborate with our academy and industry partners to amplify our reach. We request their assistance in disseminating this information throughout their networks, as we don’t have a large infrastructure to rely on. The only thing we need to focus on is marketing and outreach, so we take their assistance. We have signed MoUs with them.

Recently, we successfully hosted an open challenge event in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, focusing on agritech innovations. This event exclusively featured agritech startups. We utilize a standardized portal developed by STPI which enables CoEs from outside of the OctaNE to leverage its resources and host open challenge programs.

We ask our HQ team to set up the portal for each open challenge program we hold. STPI created a new company, STPI Next Initiatives which is a Section 8 company, that oversees all the Centres of Excellence (CoEs).”

Q: “What is the selection criteria of your program?”

A: “The eligibility criteria include:

– A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience

– Company age: less than 10 years from the date of registration to the date of application

– Maximum annual turnover: ₹100 crore

Companies exceeding these limits are not considered.

Although we focus on IoT in agriculture, if a startup with a project outside of our scope (e.g., graphic designing), applies to our portal, the jury can recognize its potential and recommend it to the relevant STPI that focuses on graphic designing. In this case, the application will not be rejected, but rather redirected to another STPI for further consideration. Our jury members are experienced professionals who have started and run their own successful businesses. They have over 20 years of experience.”

Q: “How is STPI different from other incubators?”

A: “The key difference between other incubators and STPI is that we accept applications based on ideation. If a startup has an idea with potential for future commercial viability, we encourage and support them. Unlike other incubators, which typically invest in startups that are already commercially viable, we invest in ideas with potential, even if they haven’t yet generated profits.”

Q: “What challenges has STPI faced or is facing in its operations?”

A: “We accept applications from across India. Our startup network is spread over cities like Hyderabad, Coimbatore, and Chennai. We want these startups to come over here and create jobs, but it’s not happening yet. Our objective was to support over 315 startups within five years. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, our progress has been delayed.

In 2020, our first three centres were established in Guwahati, Imphal, and Shillong, with plans to establish the other five STPIs in North East in phase two. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit India shortly after, causing significant delays in physical infrastructure development and tendering processes, which are particularly complex in the North East region.

As a result, our project timeline has been delayed by two years. While lab infrastructure is ready in most STPI locations, Itanagar is still pending completion. Moreover, the North East region is still in the early stages of developing a startup culture, unlike the rest of India. As a result, we have very few incubators and innovators. It will take time to bridge this gap, but we face challenges in terms of resources.

In my opinion, the North East is about 20 years behind other states in this regard. However, I am optimistic due to the presence of institutions like IITs, NITs, and private institutes, and many institutes like IIMs are coming up, which will contribute to the region’s growth. Additionally, the government should provide more infrastructure and facilities to support industrial development.”

Q: “What is the duration of your incubation program?”

A: “The incubation process spans 36 months which is divided into two phases. The initial 6 months is the formation stage, during which the startups create a roadmap for their project. The remaining 30 months are allocated for validation and completion.”

Q: “How many startups are associated with STPI- Guwahati till now?”

A: “We have successfully onboarded 43 startups so far, but our original target was 367. Our target was set in a different landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our progress, causing delays and challenges in achieving our goals.”

Q: “What are some valuable resources you provide to the startups?”

A: “We provide resources like physical interpretation, lab facilities, etc.”

Q: “Did you ever come across strange startup ideas?”

A: “I won’t say strange, but we’ve come across some innovative startups. One example that stands out is a startup that develops drones that are capable of deactivating nearby equipment. I believe this can have significant potential in the defence industry. It’s a truly unique concept.”

Concluding comments

Mr Ashish Sharma (Interviewee) was welcoming and cooperative throughout the interview. His replies were found to be educative and professionally useful. It will definitely encourage students, new entrepreneurs and Start-ups to associate with STPI and take full advantage of facilities provided by STPI. At a time when a sense of irritation / agitation is prevailing among youths of the country over growing unemployment problem, organizations like STPI can play an important role in solving the problem to a certain scale.

24-07-2024

Kristi Flora Karki and Angela Chakraborty are the students of the Communication and Journalism Department, Gauhati University

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