Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Startup Yatra of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University’s AIC-BAMU Foundation began on Friday with Skill Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha inaugurating the ambitious program. The initiative will travel across Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, and Dharashiv districts to identify and nurture young entrepreneurs from rural areas.
The inauguration was held at the Bajaj Incubation Centre on the university campus in the presence of Vice-Chancellor Dr. Vijay Fulare, Dr. Upendra Kulkarni, Padma Shri Girish Prabhune, pro-vice chancellor Dr. Valmik Sarvade, registrar Dr Prashant Amritkar, Dr Gajanan Sanap, Kashinath Devdhar, Dr Bharti Gawali, Dr Pravin Vakte, Mukund Kulkarni, and Amit Ranjan. The BAMU Startup Yatra is an ambitious initiative of AIC-BAMU Foundation and the university, designed to transform students from rural districts such as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, and Dharashiv into entrepreneurs generating employment. This multi-stage program begins with the first stage Idea Generation from September to November. During this stage, awareness camps will be held in colleges to encourage students to submit community-centric ideas online.
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Multi-Stage Entrepreneurial Journey
The program will run in four phases:
• Idea Generation (Sept–Nov 2025): Awareness camps in colleges to inspire and collect community-focused business ideas online.
• Mentorship & Refinement (Dec 2025–Feb 2026): Selected students will receive expert mentoring.
• Prototype & Pitch Preparation (Mar–May 2026): Students will refine their business models and prepare prototypes.
• Grand Finale (Jun–Aug 2026): Final pitching of ideas before experts and investors.
From September 2026 onward, Post-Yatra Support will help students turn promising ideas into sustainable businesses, said Director Dr. Pravin Vakte.
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Ribbon cut by drivers
In a unique gesture, Minister Lodha invited university drivers Kishor Jadhav, Dilip Bankar, Sachin Pandure, and Parmeshwar Mohite to cut the ribbon and launch the yatra.
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Photo Caption
Dignitaries flagging off the Startup Yatra at the university.