Karnataka students’ braille printer pitch wins Best Social Impact Business Idea at GITAM SmartIDEAthon 2022

In an exhilarating grand finale of the SmartIDEAthon 2022 Challenge — one of India's biggest social innovation pitch fests — a team of students from Karnataka has won an accolade for their innovative health-tech start-up pitches. Students of IIT Guwahati, Kaviraj Prithvi and Arihant Singhi, won the Best Social Impact Business Idea for a portable and inexpensive braille printer that can print all kinds of braille content on a range of materials and paper sizes allowing maximum utility and engagement for the user.

The grand-scale student pitching competition is organized by GITAM (Deemed to be) University’s Venture Development Centre (VDC) and Entrepreneurs Club (E-Club), Startup India (a flagship initiative of the Government of India), Invest India, Northeastern University Center for Emerging Markets (NUCEM), Boston and Northeastern University Center for Entrepreneurship Education (NUCEE), Boston.

It involved students pitching their ambitious social innovation ideas carrying potent answers to the most burning issues India faces under five tracks: Health Tech and Assistive Technology, Food and Agriculture, Clean/Green Technology, Waste Management and Water Management. The ideas were to be built on themes that help build sustainable and resilient communities through innovation. Notably, winners and runners-up in all categories are from the Health Tech and Assistive Technology track

Shortlisted from over 1,200 pan-India entries, the finalists refined their pitches in a series of advanced bootcamps and personalized mentoring by internationally trained venture coaches. The finale took place in person at GITAM’s Visakhapatnam campus on August 11, 2022.

With the prizes, grants and goodies totalling Rs 30 lakh, winners and first runners-up will be flown to Boston for an all-expenses-paid two-week stay hosted by Northeastern University. They will get to see and experience the vibrant Boston entrepreneurship ecosystem with trips to local incubators and accelerators and special mentoring by experts.

The jury for the finale was Professor Greg Collier, Director of International Programs, NUCEE, Professor Ravi Ramamurti, Director, NUCEM, Dr Surabhi Gupta, Manager, Startup India, Sreedevi Devireddy, Vice President, Startup Ecosystem, Xelpmoc Design and Tech Ltd and Malini Parmar, Co-Founder, StoneSoup.

The grand finale also saw renowned speakers, including Sadhguru, and Prashant Warier, Co-Founder & CEO, Qure.ai and Dr Jitendra Sharma, MD and CEO, Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone.

“India is poised to stand out as one of the skilled nations in coming years. India’s science and technology institutions have become fertile grounds for generating start-ups. GITAM University is planning to establish biotech innovation ecosystem, a ‘Bio-nest’ in campus to encourage enterprising ideas,” said Prof. Dayananda Siddavattam, Vice-Chancellor, GITAM (Deemed to be) University.

1. Sri Bharath, President,GITAM (Deemed to be)University, said, “SmartIDEAthon offered a platform for young minds to propose solutions around the themes advertised. Running your own business is not easy. Working for yourself without the safety net of being an employee can be a lonely, frustrating and challenging experience. By understanding the challenges you might face and how to deal with them, you’ll be much better prepared for potential problems and give your business the best chance of success. At the same time, running a business in an ethical manner from the top down establishes stronger bonds between individuals on the management team.”