THIRTEEN entrepreneurs from India are visiting SFU VentureLabs after winning the Next Big Idea contest sponsored by Zone Startups India. The visit is part of a two-week all-expenses paid “Market Access Program” prize, which also includes visits to Toronto and Calgary, as they explore Canada’s startup and innovation ecosystem with a view to expanding their businesses into North America.

Zone Startups India implements the Indo-Canada Bilateral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. The organization’s Next Big Idea contest seeks India’s most innovative technology companies.

The winners of the sixth annual contest are:

1. Saleeh Kaulluvetti of Appmaker. A free, native app maker for Android, iOS and Windows phones;

2. Eobin George of PerfectFit Systems. A smart, fully automated apparel production system for the fashion industry;

3. Devi Yesodharan of Trendlyne. A retail Bloomberg platform for analysts, retail investors and advisors across geographies;

4. Jainam Mehta of Oizom Instruments. Data-driven insight for environmental impact solutions using Internet of Things technology;

5. Syed Abdul Allam of IBSFINtech India. FinTech solutions for India’s risk, treasury and trade management market;

6. Raghavendra Kumar of Bitonic Technology Lab. An Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven conversation messenger;

7. Sandeep Phophaliya of Lendfoundry. A digital technology platform for managing lending products;

8. Ajaykumar Rastogi of Pingal Technologies. Enterprise data analytics for deriving business insights;

9. Sudip Dutta of Relatas, Relationship intelligence using an AI platform to forecast B2B sales;

10. Angsuhman Bhattacharya of SIBIA Analytics. Advanced machine learning for optimizing retail inventory demands;

11. Tapan Dixit of Wobot Intelligence. AI technology for automating surveillance;

12. Bitryt Solutions. Automating the process of video analytics as an integrated media platform;

13. Daniel Raj David of DeTect Technologies. Innovative solutions for the industrial asset-monitoring and inspection sector.

The winning companies were selected after rounds of rigorous evaluation that screened for team, revenue, innovation and global potential. This was followed by a Top 50 round judged by industry investors, with consulting firm evaluations for uniqueness of innovation, potential to integrate with enterprise businesses globally, and the team’s business growth potential.

The Next Big Idea contest is a Canada market-access program in collaboration with the Indo-Canada Bilateral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (ICBIEP) and the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB). Established in 1982 by the Government of India under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology and the Zone Startups India accelerator, the program is a partnership with the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Government of British Columbia, Government of Alberta, Royal Bank of Canada and the Kerala Startup Mission.

SFU VentureLabs is an SFU Innovates Incubation and Acceleration program, transforming ideas made in the classroom, lab and community into ventures that scale. Partnering with leading universities, government, international industry and investment sector partners, SFU VentureLabs collaborates on the innovation, acceleration and scale-up of world class Canadian technology businesses. It also connects to international programs such as Zone Startups India.

Learn more about SFU Innovates program, SFU VentureLabs at www.venturelabs.ca.