Pune Connect – The Place for Pune Startups to Shine!

Pune has long been seen as a good place for startups to get ready to hit the world, and the marketplace. There is a huge range of businesses young entrepreneurs are venturing into and this city offers the right kind of eco-system for those bright ideas to flourish. There is a readily available talent pool, a wide variety of resources, and then there is the thriving software industry for support. So much so, that research says there are some 322 startups in the city! (Source – Inc.). If yours is one of the startups among this number but waiting for the right push to explode onto the scene here is an opportunity not to be missed - Pune Connect 2016. A platform to bring together new businesses with industry professionals and other associates, this is the most sought after event to make a mark for yourself. Pune Connect is organized by the Software Exporters Association of Pune (SEAP) and Pune Tech and is now in its sixth year. The gathering brings together investors, potential customers, partners, and mentors for an interaction with budding entrepreneurs. Thus, at the same time it gives a great chance to startups to directly interact with industry stalwarts and expose their potential to venture capitalists and angel investors.

Since the event is all about displaying the best, startups need to go through a rigorous selection process to be selected as the top participants. Here are some figures to depict the true picture - in 2014, of the 150 total entries received only 36 startups were selected. The challenge got more harder when last year, of the 180 participants only 27 could make it to the final list. The numbers just go on to show the stiff competition startups face to be eventually identified as the most promising ones. The chosen ones are privileged to have access to a lot of new information, networking with the core industry people, exclusive sessions with venture capitalists, just to name a few benefits. They even get to exhibit free of charge at the event. Also, the startups could score a mention in the print media and social media coverage before and after the event. That is a lot of exposure for a startup which is only beginning its foray into the real world.

The showcase, this year, is scheduled for the month of November. While that seems like far enough away, however, if you are keen to make the cut, the application process needs to start right now. Remember to spend time over the application as getting through to the finals is tough. Yet all the hard work does pay off. Hence, it would be worth starting with the application process to complete the entire procedure well in time. The last date for accepting nominations for this year is 8th October 2016. To begin with, you can log on to the Pune Connect website at www.puneconnect.com and register yourself as a startup. You will receive an email with your username and a temporary password. The website will then further guide you to the selection criteria and procedures.

So if you have a product or technology startup or a startup with a dazzling idea that has started seeing light of day, this is the chance to gain recognition as one among the best. See you ate PuneConect 2016!

A Ringside View of the SEAP 2016 AGM

“India is the world’s largest experiment in digitalisation.”B. Santhanam, Saint-Gobain India at the CII Digital India Summit

It’s been a few months since I, and my agency Midas Touch Consultants, have been associated with SEAP. In that time, I have had the opportunity to view at reasonably close quarters the work SEAP has been doing in line with their mission of “Enabling the Pune technology eco-system.” In many ways, it is the Annual General Meeting that becomes the reference point for the activities of the year gone by and that sets the Association’s sights on the upcoming 12 months. This year I was fortunate to get a ringside view of the proceedings. Let me also clarify that this is not an official minutes of the meeting, rather a collection of impressions of a first-time viewer of these proceedings.

If there is one movement that is occupying the minds of Punekars and Pune companies alike, it is the Smart Cities Mission. Since coming 2^nd in the Govt. of India shortlist earlier this year, those responsible for governing the city and those living and working in it have the task of making Pune smart front and center in their minds. An initiative like this has natural resonance with SEAP’s mission given the key role technology is slated to play in this transformation. This synergy found expression through 2 separate, but complementary addresses that kicked the AGM off.

Mr. Shrinivas Kowligi, of Ernst & Young, has been at the forefront of the Smart Cities debates in India and can claim credit for having helped a number of the other cities that made the GoI shortlist, put their proposals together. He made a wonderful case for how Smart Cities were both good for business and were good business too. He specifically pointed to smart manufacturing, IoT, Robotics, eCommerce and Analytics as the industries of this Smart future.       He also spoke of how Smart City initiatives have to go beyond what the government can provide, given how the transformative industries of the future will need their city eco-system to be smart to survive. The key takeaway from the session was how government and other organizations would have to embrace a more systems thinking mindset as the journey to a smart city started.

The Chief Guest of the evening was Mr. Kunal Kumar, Pune’s Municipal Commissioner. In many ways the man most closely identified with Pune’s Smart City bid, Mr. Kumar is in the hot seat as far as realizing the dream of Pune’s 6 million citizens is concerned. Mr. Kumar passionately communicated just how much the mission means to him. His view was very clear that the mission was all about effective implementation now, and the true test was just how the ordinary citizen would benefit. Mr. Kumar identified the 3 pillars on which Pune’s Smart City plans were built.

•    Enhanced quality of life
•     Strong and robust economy and
•     Infrastructure

His definition of smart, as the capability to do more with less particularly made a lot of sense in the context of the resources available to Pune. It was abundantly clear to everyone in the room the scale of the task at hand, but also the potential benefits to our city.

The operative part of the AGM then took over. SEAP’s President, Mr. Ramkumar presented a report on many activities undertaken by SEAP over the preceding 12 months – an extremely wide range. The new Executive Committee was formed and took the stage, presumably tasked with making the next 12 months as activity-filled as the last 12. A very pleasant evening ended with networking with many of the technology game’s whos-who of Pune over dinner.

Speaking as someone who is a small part of the Pune technology eco-system, I think it’s fair to say that exciting times lie ahead for Pune’s tech community and it’s also fair to assume that SEAP will have a key role to play in enabling those exciting times. 

An Exploration Of Smart City Mission And What It Means To Pune's Technology Ecosystem

Last year, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced the launch of the Smart City initiative which aims to bring about digitization and growth in India’s city infrastructure and logistics. Exactly a year later, Pune witnessed the launch of the 'Smart City Mission' from the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.

The mission consists of various projects, all of which aim at improving the city with regards to aspects such as amenities, transport system, waste management, road conditions, recycling, etc. The launch of The Lighthouse Project in Aundh is aimed at making citizens smarter by providing skill training to youths of poor localities. Another project aims at slum rehabilitation and works towards the replacement of the slums with buildings, all of which will be fulfilling the norms of green building. A street and pedestrian walkway in Aundh will involve PMC, traffic police, utility service providers along with local residents and commercial establishments.

While a lot of these projects will be launched at a ground level and are aimed at improving or enhancing existing systems, a big part of them involve the use of technology and innovation to see the expected results. For ease of keeping track of PMPML commuters, the smart city mission will be introducing a website and mobile app. All information about the passengers opting for local commuting services will be available on this app. Another facility in the pipeline which is soon going to be introduced is the allotment of Common Mobility Cards for all passengers. This concept involves the use of a card provided to all regular commuters. The bus conductor will swipe it in an e-ticketing machine and the amount of his ticket will automatically be deducted from the card. This facility will involve recharging the card to have credit but will eliminate the hassle of exchanging cash every time a passenger needs to buy a ticket.

Another area where the smart city mission aims at providing convenience to the citizens using technology is the traffic system. This project aims at using technology to address the planning of the entire transport system. If executed as planned, it will ensure sufficient availability of public transport in different areas as per the actual demand. This will prove to be of great help to the commuters as well as enhance the regulation of traffic on roads.A project that has the potential to change the entire face of public transport in the city is the introduction of modern buses, which are designed to be environment-friendly. The project will be launched on a pilot basis at the initial stages to check if it will prove to be a better option than the conventional buses which make use of fuel. The buses would run on electric power. If the outcome is good, they would be included in the fleet of PMPML buses.

Using rooftops of civic properties for generating solar power is another project that has been proposed multiple times in the past and is finally approved with the first project launched at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. The Pune International Centre (PIC) is playing a major role in it and many private educational institutes are looking to be a part of it too.

Taking care of waste management and ensuring appropriate and timely disposal of the city's waste is another sector in which implementation of various technological tools and devices is planned. The first phase involves the installation of a GPS system on every garbage-carrying-vehicle. This initiative is on the verge of completion and will be reviewed after a few months to see if it had any positive effects. Once that is taken care of, the second step will involve geo-tagging all the waste bins with sensors to monitor details of garbage collection.

The Smart Cities Mission aims to bring about major changes in the city's ecosystem and will see the launch of many more projects in the years to come, depending on the changes witnessed from the ones that are already launched. The use of new ideas and methods involved in it makes it an exciting opportunity for technology providers to collaborate with different bodies and enable the government's efforts through various public and private partnerships.

SEAP - Driving Pune's Technology Ecosystem Towards Growth

Pune has witnessed a transformation, with major technological advantages and innovation taking place in all sectors including software and manufacturing. Yesterday’s pensioner’s paradise and educational hub has today, started becoming even more than an IT hub. Today’s Pune is working towards building an ecosystem which is great for all manner of high-tech product and service companies, too. As SEAP, our stated objective is to enable this growing technology Eco-system. We have a clear role in interfacing with government and the administrative powers to state our case and also to contribute in the growth of key initiatives like the Smart Cities movement. This post is not about that role though – this post is about what we are doing to “Enable Pune’s Technology Eco-system”. Our aim is to help startups to grow, and larger technology companies to flourish by means of various workshops, events, and facilitated training programs. Our endeavor is to ensure that the activities carried out by SEAP play a major role in the way industry and innovation are blooming in our Punya Nagari.

Here are some of the ways in which SEAP is trying to bring about measurable changes in the way the technological ecosystem functions:

1) Creating Networking Opportunities:

In spite of Pune being a smaller city than Mumbai or Bangalore, the opportunities for networking and growth here are innumerable. SEAP works towards creating a platform for players in the technology eco-system to meet prospects, customers, mentors, business partners, affiliates, investors and owners of other startups. A strong networking circle will help get the right contacts together, wherein they can share ideas, concepts, feedback or perhaps, even join hands to initiate new projects. Together everyone achieves more - this will prove to be advantageous for the system as a whole.

2) Educational Events:

Organizing events with educational value is another great way for startups and stakeholders in larger companies alike learn more about their business and then take the right steps while working towards their growth. SEAP organizes educational events regularly – you may have seen events on key areas like proposal writing and product market sizing that took place recently. Such events, apart from their instructional value, also, provide people with a platform for interaction, where they can discuss and share their ideas for validation and get their minds refreshed.

3) A focus on Products and Intellectual property:

A focus on products specifically and creation of intellectual property in general has the potential to drive innovation and SEAP is keen to help establish product leadership and to strengthening the ecosystem in Pune. The intent is to create tomorrow's product leaders by organizing flagship, volunteer-driven conferences for them. Such events focus on guiding the potential leaders of tomorrow to define, plan and accelerate their product paths for the future. Talent and ambition are already present in all the mindsets, what SEAP works towards is to channelize these thoughts and give action to their innovation.

4) Personal and Professional Development Workshops:

To bring about a change in the overall ecosystem of the city, implementing changes at the ground level is very important. SEAP works towards organizing workshops for specific target audiences and providing them with knowledge that is relevant to their industry. All growth is not professional or driven towards certification, some thought has to be given to the soul too. You may recall the recent workshop on appreciating classical music conducted by noted vocalist Mahesh Kale. Our aim is to provide the people within Pune’s technology eco-system the right information that will open their minds and provide all-round development. The growth and nature of the city's technology ecosystem will depend largely on the way every leader decides to execute his plan of action.

Working towards coming up with new means to encourage more and more people within the city to become a part of the technology space and become proud contributors to the overall technological scene of the city, SEAP is playing a major role in paving the way for the city's future and with a good response from the recipients, will continue to do so. We want to see Pune among the leading technology destinations in the world – hopefully we will all get there soon.