New Delhi — Former President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the Jain International Trade Organisation’s (JITO) national startup initiative, “ILLUMIN8,” as chief guest at a showcase event scheduled for Feb. 15 at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi, organizers said.
The event will include a conversation featuring Ashneer Grover and a fireside chat with Sandeep Aggarwal, founder of ShopClues and Droom. Investors and industry executives are also expected to participate.
According to JITO, ILLUMIN8 received more than 500 applications from startups nationwide, with 30 selected for a structured mentorship program conducted in collaboration with Physics Wallah – School of Startups. Eight startups will present live pitches for funding before a panel of investors at the event.
Jeenendra Bhandari, Chairman of JIIF, said the initiative combines mentorship, investor access and evaluation prior to funding decisions. He said early-stage investing requires founders prepared for scale, governance and long-term value creation.
The investor panel includes Hemant Jain of KLJ Group, Vinay Jain of MLM India Ltd, Anupam Bansal of Liberty Shoes and Ideabaaz, Rajesh Chandan of Veeraa Ventures, and Sandeep Bardia of the Bardia Family Office. Additional participants include Archana Jahagirdar of Rukam Capital, Murali Krishnan of WOW! Momo Foods, Anirudh Garg of BEENEXT and Nitin Jain of 1BUY.AI.
Organizers said the top two startups will advance to the final curation round of Ideabaaz Season 2, a television program focused on entrepreneurship.
