Blog

Bengaluru-based premier innovation and technology hub and life science incubator, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), on Monday announced the launch of the fifth edition of its National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition (NBEC 2021). 

C-CAMP is inviting innovators, entrepreneurs, companies, startups, and students to participate in the 2021 edition of its annual event NBEC.

Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, and Chairperson at BIRAC, today announced the programme open for bio entrepreneurs and innovators to search for exceptional ideas in the life sciences domain with potential for both social impact and commercial success.  

“NBEC is a wonderful example of how all stakeholders can come together in mission mode to energise the ecosystem. As the Hon’ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi said at India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations, our innovators are the nation’s global ambassadors. Beyond Aatmanirbhar Bharat and self-reliance, our startups now need to train their eyes on global markets with solutions that address local challenges from a global perspective. The ecosystem must scale and consolidate to enable this,” Dr Renu said during the official launch. 

During the programme’s 2020 edition, C-CAMP had introduced a special student vertical to encourage student innovation, which will continue in this edition as well. 

“NBEC is a platform literally for anybody. We have broken down walls to make the competition agnostic across demographies — students, startups, scientists, entrepreneurs, companies, BIRAC, and non-BIRAC community — NBEC has something for everyone. We are very keen to take it forward with NBEC 2021 with support from our phenomenal industry partners,” Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director at C-CAMP said. 

Search for bio innovations

Over the four years, NBEC has created a strong repository of more than 1000 vetted and expert hand-picked business ideas across all sub-domains of life sciences, including healthcare, agriculture, and environment, with a special focus on emerging areas like digital health, maternal and child health, antimicrobial resistance, water and sanitation, green chemistry, and personal care, it said in a statement.  

The competition received about 10,000 applications from 34 states and UTs in the last four years.

Speaking at the launch, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, said, “NBEC is a very exciting competition because it unleashes new ideas and entrepreneurial potential of our young people year upon year. COVID-19 has brought the spotlight firmly to biosciences and healthtech. I urge you all to leverage this narrow window of opportunity to pursue your bio entrepreneurship idea.”

Along with Dr Renu, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Anju Bhalla (Joint Secretary at Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and MD, BIRAC), and Dr Manish Diwan (Head, SPED, BIRAC) were also present during the launch event.

“NBEC is a huge opportunity to integrate both at the base of the pyramid, with innovations at the idea stage and the apex, with mature startups looking to commercialise. Its success lies in providing mentorship and handholding support while also extending a platform for visibility and traction in front of industry leaders. This is what the ecosystem demanded and NBEC has delivered,” Manish Diwan said.

What’s in for the participants?

The winners of the NBEC 2021 event — conducted as a part of BREC (the BIRAC Regional Entrepreneurship Centre, established at C-CAMP) — can receive over Rs 8 crore in cash prizes and investment opportunities in the startup category. 

Besides, winning student teams will be awarded cash prizes of up to Rs 15 lakh. C-CAMP revealed that all the winners will also get access to mentorship by key industry leaders.   

“Shortlisted finalists in both startup and student tracks will participate in a specially crafted Entrepreneurship Development Boot Camp to learn important entrepreneurship development skills from top-of-the-line industry and academic mentors,” the official statement said.

Innovators, entrepreneurs, and students team can now apply for the competition online through the official website. The applications for the event will close on September 16.