Bhubaneswar: The first anniversary of O-Hub, Odisha’s world-class Incubation Hub for startups, was celebrated here at O-Hub Incubation Centre, SEZ, Chandaka, Bhubaneswar on 18th December 2022 by Startup Odisha.
Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) Department, Govt. of Odisha, Pratap Keshari Deb graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Hon’ble Minister shared the dais with Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, and Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, MSME Dept., Govt. of Odisha.
“While naming this institution as O-Hub what was primarily in the mind was the future of Odisha, which means the Youth of Odisha. The startup is like the only door or window we have to make Odisha bounce back in the national scenario,” said Minister Pratap Deb while addressing the august gathering. He said that the youth of Odisha should take lead in entrepreneurship and should come up with innovative ideas and plans to be entrepreneurs.
Speaking on the Occasion, Startup Odisha Executive Chairman, Dr Omkar Rai said, “Under the able leadership of Honourable Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik, Startup Odisha and its incubator O-Hub have been able to put in place the services that are required to promote and sustain the Startup ecosystem in State. By now we have more than 1450 Startups across various sectors, and 25 incubators, from across Odisha and these Incubators are working in a variety of domains.”
Dr. Rai emphasized that all academic Institutions in the State should sensitize and orient youth to ideate and should establish incubators to boost the Startup ecosystem in State.
Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, MSME Dept., Govt. of Odisha said, “Startup Odisha is there to help all startups in the state. A refined policy for startups is underway which shall further galvanize Odisha’s startup ecosystem.”
During the event, the O-Hub booklet was launched. The booklet enlists the saga of events and activities carried out at O-hub since its inception in 2021. Also, a Mentor-connect Platform was launched to help startups find the correct mentor for expert guidance and support. Further, 28 new startups from various sectors including Agri-tech, Waste management, Green Technology, etc were on boarded at O-Hub. The O-Hub will provide all necessary Incubation support to these startups.
Further, Minister Pratap Keshari Deb, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha Dr Omkar Rai and Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, MSME Dept., interacted with startups, entrepreneurs, and Incubators in an open house discussion session. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by the Chief Administrative Officer, Startup Odisha.
