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Vivek Raina, Co-founder and CEO of home-internet startup ExcitelBroadband launched “Launchpad Kashmir”, an incubation fund to nurture the startup ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday. 

Besides Raina, Khalid Wani (Senior Director, Western Digital), Namrata Kaul (Director, Vivirti Capital), Kunal Harisinghani (CCO of FlapKap), Ishfaq Mir (Co-founder of Kashmir Box), and Dawood Khan (Principal Engineer, Thndr) helped set up this new fund.

The fund aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startups in Jammu and Kashmir and will provide crucial resources and mentorship to help them grow and succeed.

“The idea is that people (founders) want to do something, but they don’t reach the stage where they attract funding. They have ideas, talent, and are smart—but there is a journey from having an idea to actually reaching a seed round. We have a facility where we will shortlist and invite applications from would-be startups from J&K,” Raina, Co-founder and Mentor of Launchpad Kashmir, told Yourstory. 

Launchpad Kashmir will aim to fund and incubate 24 startups in FY25, with each startup receiving an average investment of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. It will support entrepreneurs from ideation to the seed funding round, providing capital and mentorship. Additionally, the initiative will help fuel connections between entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors, facilitating opportunities for business scaling and growth.

Raina explains that the initiative is sector-agnostic and aims to offer support to entrepreneurs in developing and expanding their startups.

“Usually people come with ideas about handicrafts or tourism. They are highly localised ideas, which are valid only in specific geographies. That is something we want to avoid. We want them to think about creating solutions and business for the entire world. With the internet, you have infinite leverage. That means you can access customers from around the world. Having said that, the ideas have to be global scale. They might run a trial in J&K, but it should be applicable around the world,” Raina said. 

He added that some of the region’s emerging sectors include fintech, agritech, and consumer tech.

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Hailing from Kashmir, Raina has over two decades of experience in the broadband industry. He co-founded Excitel in 2015, now ranked among the top 3 Internet Service Providers, besides Jio and Airtel. It claims to serve over a million subscribers across 55+ cities, with an estimated valuation of Rs 2000 crore.

“Attending the Kashmir Startup Conclave in September 2023 was an eye-opener for me. I was amazed by the diversity of startup ideas pursued by the youth of the valley and delighted to see many women entrepreneurs as well. The only thing missing piece was exposure and the lack of mentoring,” said Namrata Kaul, Founding Member of Launchpad Kashmir.  

She added, “I feel that if the right help in these areas is provided to the bright youngsters in the valley, they can learn faster, scale up, get funding, and commercialise their ideas.”