Hyderabad: AIC-IIITH Foundation inaugurated by Chief Secretary Somesh

Gachibowli : Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh along with other dignitaries, including Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (Industries), Dr B Janardhan Reddy, Secretary (Agriculture), and Ravi Narayan, CEO, T-Hub Hyderabad, formally inaugurated AIC-IIITH Foundation as part of the first T-Social Impact Confluence organised by T-Social Start-ups Network (TSSN) at AIC-IIITH space.

The foundation is an Atal Incubation Centre set up exclusively for incubating and supporting tech-based social enterprises. AIC-IIITH provides incubation support to social start-ups with dedicated newly furnished 10,000 sq ft of co-working space and facilities.

AIC-IIITH's 23 social enterprises have raised Rs 12 crore, generating revenue of Rs 2.7 crore, created 380 employment in social impact sectors like environment, health, education and livelihoods.

TSSN is a city-wide initiative for the Social Impact Ecosystem being created under the Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) and anchored by AIC-IIITH Foundation. The CS congratulated AIC-IIITH and said "I hope that in this financial year this whole sector in Telangana is going to grow and that we will be able to attract the best of talent."

AIC-IIITH recently completed renovation of 10,000 sq ft of co-working space and facilities dedicated for social enterprises. This space includes facilities for start-ups like events room and meeting rooms and is ideal for social start-ups looking for support in the build back better phase of Covid pandemic.

Through its various start-up support programmes, AIC-IIITH has supported 23 social enterprises leveraging technology to create social impact in sectors

In 2019, as part of its larger innovation initiatives, IIITH with support from AIM, NITI Aayog, started AIC-IIITH, a new incubator focused on start-ups leveraging technology to create social impact.

Applied research is a major focus for IIITH, with an active initiative around research-led innovation through its centre for innovation and entrepreneurship (CIE). CIE runs one of the largest academic start-up incubation endeavours started in 2008 with initial funding from the DST and Meity.

Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, AIM, NITI Aayog, who graced the event virtually said, "its social enterprises can bring the power of innovations and technology to society."

Prof Ramesh Loganathan, Director, AIC-IIITH, invited social start-ups to "join the AIC-IIITH family and help the country recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and put us back on the path to achieving the UN sustainable development goals." Rajkumar Janagam, AIC-IIITH CEO, pointed out that despite the difficult environment it made an impact in diverse fields.