GU Hosts Roundtable Meeting Of Stakeholders Of Gujarat's Startup Ecosystem In Presence Of Hon. Minister Of Education

AHMEDABAD – September 3, 2015 – For the second time in two weeks, Hon. Minister of Education Shri Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, visited Gujarat University and held a meeting regarding the Gujarat’s startup ecosystem.
On August 21, the state cabinet minister had chaired a roundtable meeting of Vice-Chancellors of Gujarat state to discuss a common startup policy for the state.
Today, the Minister attended a roundtable that was participated by student entrepreneurs as well as heads of incubators from Gujarat, along side top officials of the state government.
The challenges faced by startups as well as by incubators, and the need for a common policy for the state of Gujarat were elaborately discussed in the two-hour long meeting.
“The time has come that our students also strive to become job creators instead of job seekers and to support them, all universities will need to come together to make this possible,” remarked the education minister.
“The Prime Minister has taken on the mission of ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’ and Gujarat state should become the role model in this regard,” said Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.
Stressing on the importance of all stakeholders working together to build a common startup policy for the state, the minister added, “The time has come that our students also strive to become job creators instead of job seekers and to support them, all 40+ universities of Gujarat must come together to make this possible.”
“It is also crucial as to how we can ensure all the policies and initiatives can be accessed by rural and social entrepreneurs,” remarked Bhargavi Dave, the District Development Officer of Ahmedabad.
The meeting saw fruitful and productive engagement from present young entrepreneurs, as they not only discussed the challenges they faced, but also praised the government’s and Gujarat University’s constant push in order to build a sustainable startup ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders.
“There must be a way to make people aware about all such schemes and initiatives,” noted Viral Shah, an Ahmedabad-based entrepreneur, as several suggestions regarding a comprehensive online portal that connects startups with incubators, experts, government officials as well as other stakeholders, were made by participants.
Dr. MN Patel, Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat University, said, “We will ensure that we continue to take more such initiatives and work with all stakeholders as we go ahead in leading this startup movement of Gujarat.”
“As you all are the stakeholders of this ecosystem, I invite you all to propose the necessary actions that need to be taken in this regard, and I will ensure those actions are taken,” the education minister had said as he concluded his own address earlier during the meeting.