This article is sponsored by Siena in collaboration with NASSCOM Foundation.
A young child is encouraged to explore the world and get his hands dirty on the playground. ‘Fall down seven times, stand up eight times’, are words every child lives by. So, why do we lose this never-say-die attitude as we grow up?
Undermining this attitude to empower young people to solve real-life challenges is the TechForChange program, which provides them with a “geek playground”.
Nidhi Bhasin, CEO of Nasscom Foundation, has an idea to encourage social innovations from tomorrow’s leaders. “We encourage children to play by teaching them that it’s okay to fall on the playground. We are creating a similar playing field for entrepreneurs, where it is okay to fail. We teach them to stand up by providing them with the support they need to succeed. “
For example, take 22-year-old Shivam Gupta who had a brilliant idea to build drones for the defense and agriculture sectors. In need of guidance and funding, he joined the program in August 2022 as an engineering student.
The program helped him refine his ideas and learn the art of pitching to investors. His startup ‘House Technologies’ was one of the winners in Cohort 2 and is now up and running, blazing an impressive trail on the ground.
Not just Shivam, this program has helped 11 startups find their feet, accelerating the entrepreneurial journey of students. It helps make the challenging early stages of venture building – from ideation to product development and marketing – easier to navigate.
TechForChange is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, led by Ciena, a network hardware, software and services company, in its third year in the nasscom ecosystem in association with the Nasscom Foundation.
The aim is to provide young innovators with the necessary tools, support, knowledge, and opportunities, empowering them to make a meaningful impact. It is also to provide a platform to turn their ideas into prototypes and businesses. Spanning over 18 months, the immersive program guides students while exposing them to cutting-edge technology and potential use cases.
The top five high-potential startups are presented with a seed grant of Rs 5 lakh each through Technology Business Incubators (TBI).
Empowering tomorrow’s leaders to drive sustainable innovation
Today, solving critical social problems is imperative for sustainable solutions. And the program seeks to empower young leaders to catalyze global transformation through their innovative ventures and entrepreneurial spirit.
TechForChange strives to lead this charge by nurturing budding entrepreneurs and providing them with the support and resources they need to soar. It is designed to promote solutions that not only address pressing challenges but also resonate with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thereby contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future.
This program was conceptualized to address the skill set gap among college students. While they are well prepared for placement, they are not equipped with the necessary tools to start their own ventures.
“Sienna’s Digital Inclusion Program aims to foster student development and entrepreneurship in technology, promoting it as a viable and sustainable career option,” says Amit Malik, VP and Sales Leader, Sienna India.
Siena India staff also engage in regular volunteering sessions to lend their skills and knowledge to help build students’ confidence.
Siena, in collaboration with Nasscom Foundation, has run two successful cohorts in the past two years and nurtured over 157 ideas. Of these, 11 startups have materialized in various sectors, including healthcare, education, mental health, and agricultural technology.
These 11 startups received mentorship from industry veterans and a grant of 61 lakhs.
“We got a lot of help and support from the mentoring sessions. The program also helped us learn marketing and fund allocation. It made me a confident person who can present my ideas better,” said Shivam.
He adds that the program helped them launch drones in the market and also received grants of over 19 lakhs from IIT-Mandi, NSUT IIF (Netaji Subhash University of Technology, New Delhi’s Incubation and Innovation Foundation) and New Delhi programs. Vimarsh 5G Hackathon.
Since the third edition of the TechForChange program started in January 2024, the top 124 ideas were selected. The process was initiated through hands-on workshops on design thinking and ideation, which helped refine ideas.
The program stands out by offering hands-on workshops and project-based learning, which help develop expertise in cutting-edge technologies — such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Going beyond technical skills, the TechForChange-Cohort 3 program emphasizes the importance of innovation, guiding participants to identify customer needs and market gaps. This ensures that solutions are not just theoretical but relevant, and it helps find product-market fit.
Through this, they hope to encourage young people to find solutions to pressing challenges in today’s society. The TechForChange-Cohort 3 program has created a framework and support system that enables these solutions to become working prototypes through technology.
However, coming up with an innovative idea is only the first step in the entrepreneurial journey. Recognizing this, the program provides comprehensive support in the critical early stages of enterprise creation. This includes mentors, resources, and guidance in all aspects—from ideation to product development and marketing—ensuring that these young entrepreneurs have the best possible foundation to thrive.
An encouraging change in the program over the last three years is the increasing number of female participants. TechForChange’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion has been instrumental in attracting more women. In the current group, 30 percent of the participants are women. “We expect this number to grow over time,” says Nasscom Foundation CTO Vishal Thakur.
The top five startups selected from the third group will receive business mentoring, seed funding, and marketing help. At the end of 16 months, these five startups will be ready to launch.
Program details
The TechForChange-Cohort 3 program is open to college students in Delhi-NCR with a technical background. Students have to come up with technological solutions for social problems. The program spans 18 months — including 11 months of cohort and seven months of incubation for five selected startups.
Phase 1: Idea Track (2 months)
The 124 selected teams get the opportunity to refine their early-stage concepts into viable ideas through workshops and webinars. This track focuses on refining the problem statement.
Step 2: Production Track (3-4 months)
Fifty teams with promising ideas will be selected for this exciting stage, where their ideas will be successful as prototypes. Mentors with relevant experience will guide students and provide them with the necessary skills to do so. The program will also provide resources for their prototyping journey, including a small grant to help students build their solutions.
Step 3: Startup Track (2 months)
20 Promising prototypes Things heat up as they move to the next stage, where concepts begin to become business models. Consultants will guide you through product-market fit, development, company registration, and more.
Step 4: The last five
The top five startups will be selected for a chance at incubation and seed funding. Their venture will be on the verge of becoming a reality through seven months of incubation.
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Edited by Pranita Bhat