Ahmedabad, Dec 23 (PTI) A total of 1,543 startups have received financial assistance from the Gujarat government in the last four years under the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0), officials said.

With several initiatives, Gujarat has emerged as a leading hub of entrepreneurship, securing the top position in the Startup Ranking for the fourth consecutive time.

The state has been recognised as the country’s Best-Performer State, with around 16,700 startups currently operating across Gujarat, according to an official release.

To build a strong foundation for innovation among youth, the state government had announced the five-year SSIP 2.0 policy from 2022 to 2027.

Under SSIP, appropriate guidance, encouragement, and financial support are provided to students from the school level to higher education for nurturing creativity and innovation.

The Gujarat Startup and Innovation Hub (i-Hub) was inaugurated under the SSIP policy in 2023 by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The i-Hub is the largest facility in Gujarat dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship, offering comprehensive support through a single-window system that guides in legal, financial, technical, and operational matters, the release stated.

This facility supports early-stage innovators and startups in transforming ideas into successful enterprises, it said.

"Under the SSIP 2.0 policy, 5,684 innovations were supported to create PoC/prototypes and 2,296 to file IPRs through 339 institutions in the state, and more than Rs 32.38 crore has been provided under PoC/fund support. Over the last four years, 1,543 startups have received financial assistance from the state government under SSIP 2.0," it said.

A total allocation of Rs 300 crore has been made under SSIP 2.0 for a five-year period, with an annual grant of Rs 60 crore. Of this, Rs 30 crore is allocated to technical education, Rs 12 crore to i-Hub, Rs 10 crore to higher education, and Rs 8 crore to schools, it added.

The new i-Hub campus, inaugurated in 2023, spans approximately 1.5 lakh square feet and can accommodate around 500 startups at a time. So far, i-Hub has provided direct assistance to about 620 startups.

In addition, under the Startup Srujan Seed Support Scheme, financial assistance of more than Rs 23 crore has been extended to 402 startups, the release said.

Another state-led programme, WEstart, was launched to promote women’s participation in the startup sector. Assistance has been provided to 196 women-led startups, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the total supported startups.

To further strengthen the startup and innovation ecosystem in Gujarat, four new centres will be established in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, and Mehsana over the next year, following the i-Hub currently operational in Ahmedabad, the release stated.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said, "Startups have the power to enable youth to start their own businesses and become a source of employment for others. Gujarat has built an ecosystem wherein programmes such as WEStart and the Student Startup and Innovation Policy empower women entrepreneurs.

Manan Bateriwala, founder of Keepsake Automation, a beneficiary of i-Hub, said he began his career as a freelancer.

"When we decided to establish a company, i-Hub guided us at every stage, from company formation and scaling to compliance and legal support. The i-Hub centre also helped us build our brand identity and provided opportunities to participate in exhibitions.

"Today, our company employs 37 people. We have received a total grant of Rs 15 lakh from the Gujarat government, and this support has played a key role in my journey as a successful entrepreneur,” he said.

Startups incubated at i-Hub have created around 1,400 skilled jobs across Gujarat, while their combined market valuation has reached approximately Rs 3,569 crore.

Through i-Hub, startups have secured more than Rs 416 crore in private funding from various venture funds. In addition, i-Hub has expanded its outreach to over 20 districts through a hub-and-spoke model, and also raised awareness about startups and innovation among over 4 lakh youth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly believes that innovative ideas, technology-driven solutions, and the energy of young entrepreneurs are the pillars of holistic national development, and startups playing a pivotal role in building Viksit Bharat @2047, the release added. PTI KVM PD NSK