KATHMANDU, Jun 3: Twenty-five Nepalese startups are undergoing training in India, fully funded by New Delhi under a startup partnership programme between the two countries, officials said.
The second cohort of the India-Nepal Startup Partnership Network (IN-SPAN) programme commenced on Monday at the IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, Chennai, the Indian Embassy here said in a social media post.
“The India-Nepal Startup Partnership Network programme brings together emerging Nepali entrepreneurs and the Indian technology and startup ecosystem,” it said.
An inauguration ceremony was held on Monday at the IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, where these 25 Nepali startups are undergoing an eight-week fully funded training and innovation programme, said the Indian mission.
The IN-SPAN program is primarily funded and facilitated by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, in collaboration with IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation.
The participants represented sectors including cyber-security, e-commerce, AI, editech, healthcare, drone technology, cleantech, agritech, legal tech, climate tech, aerospace and fintech.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava virtually addressed the ceremony. He also appreciated the diverse cohort and encouraged the participants to explore collaboration with the Indian startup ecosystem.
The inauguration ceremony of the second cohort was attended by the CEO of IIT Madras, Pravartak MJ Shankar Raman and others.
IN-SPAN aims to catalyse cross-border innovation, foster investment linkages and build enduring entrepreneurial partnerships between India and Nepal.
In IN-SPAN’s first cohort was conducted at IIT Madras Pravartak from December 2025 to January 2026. Around 250 applications were registered, out of which 24 candidates were selected for the training.
According to the Indian Embassy, the programme set an exceptional precedent. (PTI )
Follow our WhatsApp channel
