Sunday, Sep 21, 2025 21:45 [IST]
Last Update: Saturday, Sep 20, 2025 16:11 [IST]
GANGTOK,: The North East AI and Digi-SAPNE 2.0 (Startup Acceleration Program for North East) successfully culminated in a high-energy Demo Day at AIC-SMUTBI on Friday, after an intensive six-month acceleration journey for 12 technology-driven startups representing all eight States of the North Eastern region.
Supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, Digi-SAPNE 2.0 was established to nurture and empower emerging enterprises from the North-East by providing them with critical resources, mentorship, and investment support—thereby fostering entrepreneurship-led economic growth in the region, a press release informs.
This year’s program witnessed an overwhelming 402 applications, from which 12 high-potential startups were selected. Collectively, these startups achieved a total revenue of Rs 7.98 crores in the last financial quarter and raised Rs 5.25 crores in external investments from venture capitalists and angel investors during the same period.
Over the course of the program, 28 mentors from diverse sectors contributed more than 1,000 hours of engagement, while investment negotiations were initiated with over 14 investment agencies, including venture capital firms, angel investors, and family offices.
On September 18, as a lead-up to the Demo Day, the cohort participated in a focused Bootcamp which was supported by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) featuring sessions on financial hygiene by Dwijijadas Chatterjee and refining the business playbook by Gulshan Purswani. Additionally, Suman Sekhar, branch manager, SIDBI, highlighted the various funding and support schemes offered by SIDBI for early-stage ventures.
During the demo day on September 19, the 12 startups presented their business models and growth strategies before the Investment Committee of AIC-SMUTBI. The jury constituted on the advised of the Ministry comprised of Government representative, industry experts, investor, academia and followed a rigorous evaluation, 10 startups were selected to receive a grant investment of Rs 10 lakh each—8 under the Digi-SAPNE scheme and 2 under the Startup India Seed Fund (SISF).
The startups receiving the Digi-SAPNE grants were Respirit Healthcare (Assam), Recycle Bazaar (Meghalaya), Sutsung Enterprise (Nagaland), Green Biotech Ecolsolutions (Manipur), Cubo Bots (Tripura), Infinite Swasthya (Assam), Eigthsis Technologies (Mizoram), and Acuvea Healthcare Technologies (Tripura).
The startups receiving the SISF grants were Arunachal Ivory & Ornaments (Arunachal Pradesh), and Spaced Revision (Sikkim).
Speaking on the occasion, the VC of SMU and Chairman of Board of AIC-SMUTBI, Dr G.K Prabhu, reiterated their commitment to building a robust innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the North-East and expressed confidence that programs like Digi-SAPNE 2.0 will inspire and empower a new generation of entrepreneurs.
The guest of honour, Tenzing Kaleon, secretary, IT department, Government of Sikkim, urged the participants to pursue innovative entrepreneurial ventures with greater confidence, noting that stronger government support is now available to back such initiatives.
The event underscored the Government of India’s commitment, through Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and drive sustainable economic opportunities in the North-East, the release mentions.
