The technology business incubator of the IIT Kanpur, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), has announced signing a MoU with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to become a partner under the “Startup Gateway Free Cities” programme.

Under the programme, the MoHUA will act as a monitoring agency to support 20 startups at the first phase, excluding the top 10 startups from 30 finalists under the ‘Swachhata Startup Challenge’, by providing funding support to add to the evolving innovation ecosystem globally in the domain of waste-to-wealth.

The SIIC IIT Kanpur is an implementation partner for managing the Program under the initiative to support 20 selected innovations/startups by offering mentorship, administrative and handholding support for one year. In addition, 55 startups will be identified during the program implementation and will be provided the adequate support required for their growth.

The vision of this collaboration between the MoHUA and the SIIC IIT Kanpur is to support 75 startups working at the nexus of technology and social innovation to solve India’s waste management challenges by improving waste management efficiency, increasing social impact, and improving transparency of the waste value chain.

The “Startup Gateway for Garbage Free Cities” portal shall remain open across the year. In the initiative’s first cohort, 20 startups shall get financial support. The second phase of this initiative shall begin on the portal, wherein any potential startup can simultaneously apply under the relevant incubation mode.

The following 20 notable startups will have a platform to implement solutions and address waste-to-wealth segment issues.

They are Ecowrap ,EcoKaari , PadCare Labs , Celligo Natural Fibres , RCube Recycling , MuddleArt, MiniMines Cleantech , Aloe Ecell, Citygen Technology, Nellikka Complete Solutions, Uneako , Angirus , Quality Decor Dzines 29, ReCircle Trashback India ,Spruce Up Industries Strawcture Eco ,ARC-Robotics ,Jivoule, Biofuels and WeVOIS Labs.

Prof. Ankush Sharma, professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation IIT Kanpur, commented in a statement , “We are pleased to partner with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for this prestigious program. These 20 startups will create impactful businesses through this partnership by creating indigenous technologies in waste to wealth domain.”

Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, FIRST & AIIDE-CoE, said, “This program will add to the vibrant incubation ecosystem at SIIC by providing resources to startups for technological solutions for waste management through validation and deployment of available technologies for the transformation of waste to wealth.”

Piyush Mishra, COO, SIIC, added, “We are pleased to implement the ‘Startup Gateway for Garbage Free Cities’ programme. This initiative will be a game-changer in the CleanTech space and contribute heavily towards Sustainable Development Goals.”