Around 50 proposals for start-ups mooted by budding entrepreneurs of north Bengal were placed at a business conclave hosted by the North Bengal chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) here on Friday.

“For quite some time, the ICC has been focussing on start-ups and encouraging young entrepreneurs who are coming up with new ideas. A number of prospective investors who want the start-ups to develop in north Bengal and Sikkim were present at the conclave. Of the proposals, eight to 10 have been selected and pitched for investments to the tune of Rs 30 crore,” said Nishant Mittal, chairman of the ICC north Bengal.

Sources in the ICC said the proposals included new commercial ventures in sectors like horticulture, IT, organic food and grocery.

Mittal said the ICC could bring in some stalwarts of the industry as well the young entrepreneurs together at the conclave. “We wish to promote budding entrepreneurs of north Bengal and link them to industry experts and business leaders from all parts of the country. This step would help them showcase their concepts at macro level,” he added.

In the course of the event, the ICC north Bengal also launched its YLF (Young Leaders’ Forum) Start up ICC Next, an initiative that had been introduced by the trade body to encourage new business ideas and promote investments.

A number of youths in north Bengal and Sikkim, many of whom used to work outside in different sectors, conceived a number of new business concepts in the past few years and particularly during the Covid-19-induced lockdown last year.

“While some of these are IT-enabled concepts which can offer varied services to consumers at door steps, there are also new business ideas which involve utilisation of the natural resources and the efficient manpower we have in the region, particularly in the Darjeeling hills. Now that things are returning to normal, it is time to nurture these ideas to promote alternative employment options in north Bengal and Sikkim,” said a senior industrialist based in Siliguri.

CII initiative

The north Bengal zonal council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with National Marwari Foundation and a private group distributed artificial limbs among specially-abled people at the National Marwari Foundation Artificial Limb centre in Siliguri on Thursday.

Sanjay Tibrewal, the chairman of the CII NB zonal council, said the initiative would help the beneficiaries in their locomotion. The trade body will take the initiative to ensure that each of them receives the monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 under a government scheme.