Balmer Lawrie teams up with IIM Calcutta

Kolkata: City-based State-run Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. has now teamed up with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (the incubation centre under the aegis of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta), for taking forward its round 2 Startup Fund programme.

Interestingly, the PSE under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOPNG) had flagged off its Startup Fund journey in 2017, with a commitment of Rs 5 crore. In Round 1, promising startups like Kanpur Flowercycling Pvt. Ltd. and RCHobbytech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. were nurtured and incubated. The experience of a diversified PSE coupled with skills and expertise of a premier knowledge institution helped in achieving desired objectives of this startup programme, company officials said.

The current move aims at creating a vibrant ecosystem and fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation. As part of this association, IIM-CIP would carry out a national level startup hunt exclusively for Balmer Lawrie. The selected startups would be supported with funds, workspace, knowledge resources, mentors and a platform for networking and connecting with customers and investors. This round is a noteworthy step towards supporting more promising startups enabling them to significantly contribute to the growth and prosperity of our country's economy.

"Balmer Lawrie is extremely excited to associate with IIM-CIP once again to take forward its startup journey. Their experience, infrastructure and support has been of immense value and we would like to leverage the same this time as well," said Adika Ratna Sekhar, Director (HR & CA]) and CMD (Additional Charge), Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd.

Significantly, Kanpur Flowercycling, the startup funded and incubated by Balmer Lawrie in the Round-I, eventually pioneered the technology of flower cycling to transform temple flowers into organic alternatives by engaging marginalised women. RCHobbytech, a solutions designer and system integrator in the field of aerial surveillance industry, on its parts, made a mark in providing customized geospatial solutions through unmanned systems. Both of them were able to make noteworthy impact in their respective areas thus, promoting sustainability and innovation using new age technology. Balmer Lawrie successfully exited from Kanpur Flowercycling, paving the way for interested VC firms / angel investors having rich domain knowledge and experience to steer them to the next level of growth and success.

Prof Anju Seth, Director, IIM Calcutta said, "We are thrilled to partner once again with an esteemed organization like Balmer Lawrie for the Startup Fund programme. We are in the constant lookout for budding entrepreneurs and businesses and to enable them to grow multi-fold. The selected candidates will be guided through the process of setting up a successful business aided by our Incubation Centre's infrastructural capabilities, coupled with the expertise of its cohort of mentors from across industries."