The Social Trailblazer program envisaged to incubate and invest into social entrepreneurs across India, providing funding and capacity building to increase impact in the livelihood & livability space. The program was supported by LIC Housing Finance Ltd and IRMA ISEED Foundation as funding and technical partners respectively. It aimed to bring 20 social enterprises those working towards creating positive community driven impact in society onboard and provide them with incubation support at IRMA.

IRMA with the support of LIC Housing Finance Limited received more than 170* applications of the startups from all over India. These applications went through three subsequent phases of screening and a total 35 startups were selected for a two-day long bootcamp. Internal Investment Committee then selected total 20 high potential startups among those 35 startups to receive incubation support. A pitching event organized at IRMA, where a Grand Jury was invited for identifying 11 investible startups for the year based on the pitch presented by the startups.

This was followed by a thorough Business, Legal and Financial Diligence by IRMA’s team. Based on which final funds were released to the startups along with one-to-one milestone based mentoring session from the industry experts.

To create a robust management learning ecosystem for the employees of the one of the renown Agritech start-up of India, IRMA ISEED In collaboration with Niiti consulting is developing a training model. The engagement will be from April 2022 to March 2023.     The module contains online as well as offline training sessions on the topics related to Agri Science, Agri Business and Organizational Behaviour.

ANTRA (Autonomous Navigation for Transformation of Rural Areas) was a hackathon jointly organized by TiHAN and IRMA-ISEED Foundation. The hackathon was meticulously planned to address six major problem statements in the rural domain. Startups and ideators working on these problem statements were specifically invited to participate. The primary objective of ANTRA was to foster and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit among young participants.

As part of the program, the top five participants were awarded a cash prize of 50,000 INR each, along with the invaluable opportunity to be an entrepreneur in residence at IIT Hyderabad. The collaboration between TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad and IRMA-ISEED Foundation aimed to leverage the technological and social expertise of these esteemed institutions in designing and executing the program. In the current era, it is crucial to instill an entrepreneurial approach in students during their formative years of formal education. ANTRA was meticulously designed to provide a boost to students, innovators, and entrepreneurs across all categories.

This hackathon stood out for its unique characteristics. ANTRA provided a platform for social enterprises working on technology-oriented solutions, effectively addressing both the social and technological aspects of entrepreneurship. The focus on early-stage entrepreneurs was driven by the intention to guide, mentor, and support them right from the inception of their entrepreneurial journey. This comprehensive support, including mentorship, networking opportunities, and the chance to work with an entrepreneur in residence, was jointly provided by TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad and IRMA-ISEED Foundation.

The overarching aim of organizing this hackathon was to create an ecosystem where early-stage startups and innovators could receive formal guidance from industry experts, ensuring their sustainable growth in the years to come. The positive response and impact of this initiative were evident from the overwhelming participation, with over 180 registrations received from all across India. The satisfaction expressed by the selected participants highlighted the success of the hackathon and their appreciation for being part of an ecosystem constructed for the greater good.