NRL wants innovative projects from NE

Oil giant ready to fund and provide technical knowhow

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 17: Want to make headway with your entrepreneurs? Come forward with innovative projects that have the potential to help entrepreneurs and society as well – NRL is ready to extend funds and technical knowhow.

Addressing the media in Guwahati on Tuesday, NRL Director SK Baruah said NRL is always ready to help entrepreneurs from the Northeast with funds and technical knowhow under iDEATION if they come forward with innovative projects that can help them and society as well.

iDEATION is the platform created by NRL for selection of startups for funding projects that have the potential to grow in future. NRL has earmarked a fund of Rs 10 crore to be invested in selected startups, primarily from the Northeast over a period of three years. After completion of its first edition startup selection and funding programme iDEATION 2017, NRL has launched its second edition and funding programme iDEATION 2018.

Baruah said: “We’re ready with Rs 10 crore for entrepreneurs from the Northeast if they come forward with innovative projects that can help themselves and society as well. In the first edition of iDEATION we received as many as 362 projects, but we picked up only four of them. We supported them with funds and technical knowhow. We want more such projects in this edition of iDEATION. If we get innovative projects, we can support them with funds within our limits. We’ve Rs 10 crore with us.”

Spelling out the types of funding which NRL opts to extend financial and technical support, Baruah said: “We’ve seed funding. This is especially for beginners – entrepreneurs that have just entered the business with innovative projects. We also have early stage funding – meant for entrepreneurs that have already set their feet on the field. We also have another type of funding – scale-up funding. This is meant for entrepreneurs that have been in the field and want to scale newer heights with innovative projects.”

The four startups that were selected for funding in 2017 involving a total funding of Rs 1.29 crore are – ParkingRhino, an online parking solution provider; AutoMovil, an aggregator of multi-brand car servicing in Guwahati; Arohan AgriScience to develop low-cost composite material from bamboo and water hyacinth for construction of flood-resistant enclosures for livestock; and Deroi Tea, a project to build a proto-type of an innovative tea dryer enhancing the quality of tea.