The Assam government has initiated steps to accelerate growth of the agro-processing sector in the state and is working on promoting a conducive environment for it.
Pointing out that APART encourages agri-entrepreneurs to spearhead the development of the state, Bhutani said “We welcome CIIE.CO’S effort in implementing a much-needed programme for achieving results".
The Assam government has initiated steps to accelerate growth of the agro-processing sector in the state and is working on promoting a conducive environment for it.
Programmes such as the Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab (AAGL) are initiatives for quick paced development of the sector, a press release quoting a government official said.
“The Government of Assam is committed to promote an enabling agriculture enterprise ecosystem in the state. Towards this, APART has initiated the Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab programme to foster and accelerate the growth of the agro-processing sector,” Ashish Bhutani, State Project Director of APART (Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project), said.
Pointing out that APART encourages agri-entrepreneurs to spearhead the development of the state, Bhutani said “We welcome CIIE.CO’S effort in implementing a much-needed programme for achieving results".
CIIE.CO is a startup incubator established by IIM Ahmedabad. Bhutani was speaking at ‘Pitching and Demo Day’ organised on the occasion of completion of engagement by AAGL with its inaugural group. The AAGL is an APART-led acceleration programme in partnership with CIIE.CO.
CIIE.CO in partnership with ICCSPL is co-implementing this acceleration programme in Assam that was officially launched on June 30 last year. Innovative Change Collaborative Services Pvt Ltd (ICCSPL) is a social consulting firm providing technical and knowledge support to individuals and organisations.
Chintan Bakshi, partner CIIE.CO, maintained that the AAGL has the potential to be a trend-setter for supporting agri-based businesses and MSMEs across the country.
“CIIE.CO has used its expertise in startup incubation and acceleration to provide deep mentoring, business advisory, fundraising and market access support to agribusinesses from Assam,” he added.
Arijit Sarmah, AAGL team leader and senior manager, regional incubation, CIIE.CO, demonstrated the Call for Application URL hyperlinked to the AAGL website for its upcoming cohort and urged eligible agri-entrepreneurs of Assam to apply for the programme.
The Demo Day saw coming together of stakeholders, government agencies, financial bodies, investors and buyers with the AAGL entrepreneurs in focus, the release said.
The AAGL organised the Demo Day primarily to present its journey of one year of the cohort acceleration process. After a series of business and technical interventions and two boot camps, the cohort of 25 Agri-enterprises will now be engaging with investors, buyers and market platforms leading to access to finance and markets.
(With PTI inputs)