SHILLONG: Three entrepreneurs, identified through Meghalaya Chief Minister’s E-Champion Challenge Cohort 1, have emerged as winners at NERES 1.0, an entrepreneurship summit aimed at offering a platform to promising start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs across the North East.
The winners of the summit, viz. Babatdor Dkhar, Baldilla T Sangma and Rejaul Gabil Momin, who are among the winning entrepreneurs shortlisted after the final round of the NERES 1.0, will receive a grant of Rs five lakh under the sponsorship of NEC.
Dkhar, who is also the founder of Ka Ktien Media and Chief Editor of Half and One, while thanking his mentor, said, “Winning NERES 1.0 along with the Chief Minister’s E-Champion Challenge Cohort 1 while also being selected for the IIM Shillong Incubation Center have been important events. I feel extremely fortunate because of the many opportunities that are opening up. I look at each as vital stepping stone in my entrepreneurial journey. PRIME Hub and the resources that it offers is a platform that I hope many entrepreneurs in our state will have access to”.
Sangma, who is the founder of Ama food products in West Garo Hills, said, “On winning the NERES 1.0 Summit, I would like to firstly thank the organisers of the competition. I would also like to thank IBDLP (Integrated Basin Development and Livelihoods Programme), MIE (Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship) and PRIME hub who have helped me in ways more than one to achieve new heights. The mentoring sessions for the Chief Minister’s E- Champion Challenge not only guided me but also built confidence in me to participate in the Summit, and thereby emerge victorious”.
Momin, owner of Gabil Cashew Processing Centre, said, “When I went for my first session of pitching, I immediately knew that the competition was fierce and I had to pull up my socks and had to give my best shot. I was overwhelmed and filled with joy knowing that my hard work and perseverance had finally paid off as I was declared as one of the winners of NERES 1.0”.
It may be mentioned that a first-of-its-kind annual open challenge called the Meghalaya Chief Minister’s E-Champion Challenge Cohort 1 was launched on August 14, 2019, which identified 50 business ideas that are receiving incubation support at the prime start-up hubs at Shillong and Tura. The prime start-up hubs are being managed in collaboration with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park as the knowledge partner.
