ICEA's Global Innovation Program with Caret Capital

New Delhi, Jun 3 (PTI) India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) on Friday announced the launch of Venture Access Labs, which is a technology innovation access programme, in partnership with venture capital fund Caret Capital.

This initiative seeks to empower India's electronics and appliances manufacturing companies by enabling them to discover, curate, and adopt technologies and innovations from across the globe.

Designed to give the Indian manufacturing industry a competitive edge, the programme will connect companies with transformative innovations across domains,
including advanced manufacturing, AI, IoT, energy efficiency, and materials science.

The comprehensive programme will cover several functions, including procurement, planning, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, HR, legal and ESG.



The collaboration with Caret Capital, whose expertise is in technology scouting and venture ecosystems, will ensure India's manufacturing industry has access to a vetted pipeline of global startups and emerging technologies that are strategically aligned with the specific business needs of the industry.

"By opening the door to international technological advancements and building an innovation pipeline, we aim to accelerate India's electronics manufacturing capabilities and global competitiveness to capture a larger global market share," Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA, said.

Through this programme, companies will benefit from innovation trend spotting, curated access to high-impact startups and IPs, strategic matchmaking and pilot opportunities.

Facilitated investments in strategically relevant and vetted high-potential startups would be another benefit.

"It is time for Indian electronics and appliances manufacturing to transition to tech-first-led global leadership. Venture Access Labs is a reverse mentoring and deep engagement ecosystem, connecting Indian manufacturers with the world's tech leaders and top disruptors," Salil Kapoor Co-founder and Chief mentor of Venture Access Labs said.

Prajakt Raut, co-founder and Managing Partner at Caret Capital noted that as India advances toward becoming a USD 10 trillion economy, the manufacturing and electronics sectors will be at the forefront, driving not only growth but also creating millions of jobs.