IIT Bombay’s Eureka 2021 Winners to Showcase innovation at EXPO 2020 Dubai

Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), a leading UAE-based Shariah-compliant financial services firm with over $2 billion of assets under management, has announced its partnership with the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, to launch the first international edition of Eureka, which is Asia’s largest business plan competition, in the GCC. The announcement was done at the India Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai by the Consul General of India in Dubai, Dr Aman Puri, and one of the co-founders of GII, Mr Pankaj Gupta.

“We are thankful to GII for this association with IIT-Bombay. GII will be supporting the winners of Eureka and participate at the India Pavilion. Eureka will be showcasing the best of the start-up ideas at the India Pavilion,” said Dr Puri.

Mr. Pankaj Gupta, one of the co-founders of Gulf Islamic Investments, said, “GII is pleased to partner with IIT’s Entrepreneurship Cell to bring its highly regarded business model competition – Eureka! – to the GCC for the very first time. History has repeatedly shown us how entrepreneurship is deeply ingrained in the Middle East and GII is proud to count some of the region’s pioneering startups among its investees.”

“This inaugural competition is a reflection of our longstanding commitment to promoting the GCC entrepreneurial ecosystem and we look forward to delivering exceptional skill-building, mentorship and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs. Eureka! GCC will serve as a powerful and pivotal shift to catalyze a new era in startup and enterprise creation that will only further strengthen the UAE-India innovation and investment corridor,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of Expo 2020 Dubai for start-ups, Dr Puri said, “With the India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, we want to use this opportunity to support startups, innovators, businesses and help them connect with their global counterparts. India has the third-largest start-up eco-systems in the world. The country has created 36 unicorns in 2020 and 36 more are expected in 2021. With the Innovation Hub at the Indian Pavilion, we plan to showcase more than 500 start-ups from the country to the world.”

Prateek Jajodia, Head of the E-Cell, IIT Bombay said, “For over 23 years, Eureka! is committed to promoting innovation and supporting pioneering ideas with the potential to revolutionize the world. We are proud to associate with GII and bring the best ideas from India to be presented at Expo 2020 Dubai. E-Cell at IIT Bombay envisions a world where the younger generation aspires to become job creators rather than job seekers. We are committed to ensuring smooth communication between founders, venture capitalists, corporates, students, and other stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and look forward to creating sustainable, solutions-driven and spirited entrepreneurship ecosystems globally.”

GII recently announced its foray into Karnataka, India to strengthen investment ties between India and the UAE. The firm will be opening its office in Bengaluru. GII’s investment approach in India is sector-agnostic and the firm plans to invest another USD 500m (INR 3,500 crores) in India in the next 3 years.