Patna, (Bihar Times): The Tata NEN (National Entrepreneurship Network) Hottest Startups Awards 2008 announced the shortlist of 30 finalists, which includes some of India's most inspiring and innovative young companies.

The SammaaN Foundation from Bihar was the only social enterprise in the list. The Patna based foundation has launched an innovative project for upliftment of rickshaw pullers.

The shortlist was announced based on a combination of expert ratings and public voting, following an audit conducted by Ernst & Young, the official tabulator for the awards, an NEN statement said.

"The short-listed start-ups reflect the diversity of entrepreneurship in India, and the wide range of opportunities open to entrepreneurs. The represented industries include healthcare, agribusiness, retail, education, training, sports & sports infrastructure, eco/green products, social ventures and more," the statement added.

Additionally, it represents a unique blend of cities - with four of the finalists located in tier two cities -- Patna, Kota, Patiala and Belgaum. As expected, a large number - 26 of the 30 entrepreneurs - are based out of major metros, including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

"Surprisingly, half of the finalists are serial entrepreneurs, even though a majority don't have any prior family business background," the statement added.


"The 30 start-ups were short-listed from a total of 588 nominations received by start-ups contestants from all over India, making this the largest and most diverse collection of start-ups on a single programme," the statement said.

The TATA NEN Hottest Startups awards were launched on August 27 by NEN in collaboration with the Tata group with the goal of improving the ecosystem and driving economic growth, the statement added.

Major partners in the initiative include Helion Ventures, Seedfund and Wadhwani Foundation. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the Gateway Hotel have joined the Awards as special partners.

The awards aim to provide visibility for startups, engage public and improve support for startups. Furthermore, the contest has two firsts to its credit -as India's first ever people's choice awards and the first-of-its-kind open platform showcasing Indian startups.

NEN, a not-for-profit initiative of the California-based Wadhwani Foundation, works to inspire, educate and support the younger generation of entrepreneurs in India.

Currently NEN is working with more than 400 top-tier academic institutes reaching over 400,000 young people across 30 cities of India. The NEN community alone has 55,000 entrepreneurship cell members.

The organization was co-founded in 2002 by leading Indian institutes, including IIT-Bombay, IIM-Ahmedabad, BITS Pilani, and S.P. Jain, Mumbai. NEN's advisory board includes eminent experts such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Naina Lal Kidwai, Arun Seth and Howard Stevenson of the Harvard Business School.

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