Innoventure 2025 bets big on start-ups as the next global growth engine
PGPEM entrepreneurship summit featured a keynote address by Shashi Kumar, Co-founder and CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic
13 October, 2025, Bengaluru: The 2025 edition of Innoventure, an entrepreneurship summit organized by the Students’ Affairs Council (SAC) of the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), brought together industry leaders, innovators, and aspiring founders for a day of ideas, insights, and action. This year’s theme, ‘Every great idea starts as a scribble on a piece of paper’, captured the courage to dream, to take second chances, and to turn a “what if” into a “why not.”
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Shashi Kumar, Co-founder and CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic, who shared his journey from a 17-year career in IT to building India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise. In a compelling narrative of purpose-driven entrepreneurship, he outlined Akshayakalpa’s mission to empower farmers as entrepreneurs through sustainable, tech-enabled farming systems.
He also reflected on the challenges faced during the 2020 period, when disruptions tested the organization’s resilience. His candid insights into navigating those setbacks and rebuilding stronger highlighted the importance of grit, adaptability, long-term vision, and community-driven innovation. The session concluded with a Q&A session, where students engaged in discussions on sustainability, business scalability, and values-based entrepreneurship.
The day also featured the Founder’s Dilemma Case Competition, where participants from the PGPEM, EPGP, and EGMP programmes explored real-world challenges presented by five partner start-ups – Cosmic Signalling, Ignite India, Finvayu, IndyVarna, and Silvayana. The competition drew strong participation and showcased strategic problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork, with top-performing teams recognised for actionable solutions.
Adding a new dimension this year was Pitch to Win, an initiative curated in collaboration with NSRCEL, IIMB’s innovation and entrepreneurship hub. Participants presented their investor-ready pitches to a panel of NSRCEL experts.
Innoventure 2025 bets big on start-ups as the next global growth engine
PGPEM entrepreneurship summit featured a keynote address by Shashi Kumar, Co-founder and CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic
13 October, 2025, Bengaluru: The 2025 edition of Innoventure, an entrepreneurship summit organized by the Students’ Affairs Council (SAC) of the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), brought together industry leaders, innovators, and aspiring founders for a day of ideas, insights, and action. This year’s theme, ‘Every great idea starts as a scribble on a piece of paper’, captured the courage to dream, to take second chances, and to turn a “what if” into a “why not.”
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Shashi Kumar, Co-founder and CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic, who shared his journey from a 17-year career in IT to building India’s first certified organic dairy enterprise. In a compelling narrative of purpose-driven entrepreneurship, he outlined Akshayakalpa’s mission to empower farmers as entrepreneurs through sustainable, tech-enabled farming systems.
He also reflected on the challenges faced during the 2020 period, when disruptions tested the organization’s resilience. His candid insights into navigating those setbacks and rebuilding stronger highlighted the importance of grit, adaptability, long-term vision, and community-driven innovation. The session concluded with a Q&A session, where students engaged in discussions on sustainability, business scalability, and values-based entrepreneurship.
The day also featured the Founder’s Dilemma Case Competition, where participants from the PGPEM, EPGP, and EGMP programmes explored real-world challenges presented by five partner start-ups – Cosmic Signalling, Ignite India, Finvayu, IndyVarna, and Silvayana. The competition drew strong participation and showcased strategic problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork, with top-performing teams recognised for actionable solutions.
Adding a new dimension this year was Pitch to Win, an initiative curated in collaboration with NSRCEL, IIMB’s innovation and entrepreneurship hub. Participants presented their investor-ready pitches to a panel of NSRCEL experts.