RAIPUR: Maoist hotbed Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, is set to turn the corner in its narrative of being the impoverished underbelly of the country. The tribal-dominated heartland is hosting a three-day ‘Conclave on Entrepreneurship’ beginning April 26. The first-of-its-kind business conclave will support and facilitate opportunities to the THINK- B (Technology Hub and Innovation Network for Knowledge-Bastar) incubates and start-ups.
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai in association with Society of Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE) are organising the conclave. “The programme is intended to inspire entrepreneurship and start-ups in venture creation and career growth among the talented youth. Eminent speakers, renowned entrepreneurs and business thinkers from outside the state are going to participate,” said Rajat Bansal, Bastar Collector.
THINK-B is an initiative of the Bastar district administration, which operates accelerator programmes around the district under its brand to promote local entrepreneurs, an official statement said. The district administration has also signed MoUs with renowned institutions of the state. Think-B provides co-working space for start-ups in Bastar where in the first phase, 14 extraordinary sustainable ideas have been selected in collaboration with TISS and Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur.
“The conclave looks forward to connecting Bastar’s potential to the larger entrepreneurship ecosystem nationally and internationally,” said Mohit Verma, chairman Thread Craft India, Lucknow. The conclave is set to celebrate business ideas and the stories of entrepreneurs about their passion, hard work and commitment to achieve success in their own businesses, said Aman Jain, founder Maharashtra-based Bunker Textiles Pvt Ltd.
Think-B has been engaging with the Bastar youth who nurture potentially bold visions and guide them in accomplishing ideas based on start-up innovation. In 2018, the Niti Aayog had identified Bastar among 115 ‘aspirational districts’ which occupy the bottom of the list of the districts in the country. In November last year, state Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had inaugurated the new office of the THINK-B in the premises of the Government Polytechnic College in Dharampura.