The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India-Anna Business Incubation Research Foundation (EDII-ABIRF) at Anna University, Tiruchi, held an awareness programme on the EDII’s schemes in Tamil Nadu and its e-marketplace initiative on Friday.

The event brought together entrepreneurs, student innovators, MSMEs, and ecosystem enablers to explore government schemes, innovation support, and digital marketplace opportunities.

According to an official release, district programme managers from Perambalur, Thanjavur, Ariyalur, Pudukkottai, and Karur, held a masterclass on entrepreneurship, design thinking, and EDII TN E-Marketplace orientation.

Addressing the gathering, R. Ambalavanan, director, EDII TN, announced that the mobile app version of the EDII TN e-Marketplace would be launched soon while the web portal (https://marketplace.editn.in) has onboarded 222 sellers, 375 products/services, and facilitated 72 buyer interactions since its launch in July.

In his inaugural address, C. Shunmugaraj, state programme manager, EDII TN, explained how schemes such as Innovation Voucher Programme (IVP) empower MSMEs and startups. The event recognised IVP winners, supported through the three Knowledge Partners from the Tiruchi region.

Student and faculty startups from the region received support for projects such as plant-based eggs, drone propulsion, banana crop technologies, zero-waste exam pads, eco-friendly crop protection, and assistive technologies. The sanctioned projects together represented over ₹30 lakh in grant support, said the release.

T. Senthilkumar, dean and nodal officer of EDII-ABIRF, spoke.