National Startup Awards 2022 to be announced on 16th January 2023

Awards to recognize startups and enablers for their outstanding performance

A special award category introduced this year to recognize startups in Hilly and North-East region of India

Cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each to winning startups

Rs 15 lakh cashprice to one exceptional Incubator and one Accelerator

The results of National Startup Awards 2022 will be announced by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & Textiles in the presence of Shri Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry on 16^th January 2023 in New Delhi.

Shri Goyal will also launch the MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth), which will facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions. The matchmaking phase of the portal, which will be launched on the occasion, will allow startups to connect with mentors and discuss their mentorship needs.

The third edition of awards, National Startup Awards 2022 will reward outstanding startups and enablers which have demonstrated exceptional capabilities not just in terms of financial gains, but also for the measurable impact for the society. 

The winning and finalist startups will benefit from the support exnteded for their business growth, mentorship, funding, partnerships, market access opportunities, that will further enable them to serve as a role model for other entrepreneurs. The winning startups will also be given a cash prize of INR 5 lakh each. One exceptional Incubator and one Accelerator each will also get a cash prize of INR 15 lakh.

To recognize the efforts made by startups in the Hilly Regions and North-East region of India, a separate special category was introduced this year. This category is in addition to the special categories for women – led startups, startups creating rural impact, startups innovating for content delivery in Indic languages, startups working on solutions with potential for import substitution and innovations for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Startup Awards 2022 invited applications across 17 sectors which were further divided into 50 sub sectors, and 7 special categories. The sectors included Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Construction, Drinking Water, Education & Skill Development, Energy, Enterprise Technology, Environment, Fintech, Food Processing, Health & Wellness, Media and entertainment, Industry 4.0, Security, Space, Transport and Travel.

The National Startup Awards 2020 and 2021 have recognized 367 startups as winners and finalists, who have been supported in growing their business and creating large scale impact in the country and globally.

Startup recognition expanded with national awards and mentorship platform launch, including special regional and sectoral categories. National Startup Awards 2022 recognize startups and enablers for measurable social and commercial impact, awarding cash prizes to selected startups and to one incubator and one accelerator, and introducing a special category for Hilly and North East region startups alongside other special categories. The initiative covers 17 sectors with 50 sub sectors and seven special categories, and winners and finalists gain mentorship, funding linkages, partnerships, and market access support. The MAARG platform will be launched to enable mentorship matchmaking between startups and mentors across sectors, stages, and functions.