New Delhi / Hyderabad, June 28th, 2023: Vedanta Limited, a globally diversified natural resources conglomerate, announced its partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Startups (CII CIES) for their global corporate innovation, accelerator & ventures program, Vedanta Spark.
The program aims to accelerate start-ups utilising transformative & sustainable technologies to create large-scale impact in partnership with the Vedanta group companies and has already engaged 80 start-ups for more than 120 projects so far. CII CIES will play a significant role in identifying and evaluating the start-ups, thereby helping drive the success of Vedanta Spark to newer heights.
Ms. Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Limited & Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited, said, “Vedanta’s engagement with CII CIES will further enable innovative startups to demonstrate & develop their products in our unique ecosystem. Vedanta Spark looks forward to bringing in value delivery across our operations with the goal of utilizing emerging technologies to find solutions that will contribute to long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability.”
The program will employ a comprehensive selection process to identify the top start-ups through rigorous screening and evaluation methods. Spark aims to engage with a total of 100 unique start-ups that harness the power of innovation to solve complex business problems.
“As the implementing partner for Vedanta Spark, CII CIES is thrilled to collaborate with Vedanta in this groundbreaking initiative,” said Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman CII CIES and Co-founder, Infosys. “We firmly believe that the convergence of large corporations and start-ups creates an unparalleled opportunity for disruptive innovation and sustainable growth. This program will empower start-ups to realize their potential while addressing key challenges in various industries.”
The MoU was exchanged between Mr. Varun Akhnoor – Director, CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-ups and Mr. Arun Misra, CEO – Hindustan Zinc Ltd. & Digital Anchor, Vedanta Ltd.
Earlier this month, Vedanta Spark had also announced its collaboration with MeitY and Nasscom’s CoE for the adoption of digital technology led innovations.