After massive internet shutdowns and information blockades, a fledgling startup ecosystem has sprouted green shoots in the Kashmir Valley. At the centre of this novel effort is ‘Launchpad Kashmir’ to promote startups in a region typically grappling with communication logjams. 

With internet blockades and information dearth, a startup ecosystem was missing in Kashmir a decade ago,” said Muheet Mehraj, one of the key co-founders of an incubation fund called Launchpad Kashmir and CEO of Kashmir Box, an e-commerce startup. 

Mehraj, along with six other entrepreneurs, has launched Launchpad Kashmir to nourish the startup ecosystem in the region, where shutdowns are frequent due to political unrest and security concerns. With an average investment ranging from ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh, Launchpad Kashmir plans to fund and incubate 24 startups by FY 25. 

Incubation fund

“The idea to launch an incubation fund was floated during a startup conclave held in Srinagar in September 2023”, said Vivek Raina, another co-founder of Launchpad Kashmir and CEO of Excitel Broadband, a home internet firm. 

The journey  

From co-founding his Kashmir Box to launching  Launchpad Kashmir, 32-year-old Mehraj experienced a tumultuous roller coaster journey. 

“I launched Kashmir Box in 2011 and it was a time when the Valley witnessed frequent internet outages”, said Mehraj. According to him, the concept of startups was virtually non-existent in Kashmir at that time. 

In 2017, Meheraj began raising funds for his startup for the first time and four to five non-native angel investors came forward. 

“At that time I realised that we have to work on two key aspect—financial capital and intellectual capital—to build up a startup ecosystem in Kashmir and it was not going to be a cake walk”, said Mehraj. 

His venture weathered the storms of the long-drawn-out unrest in the Valley. However, he had to halt his operations following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 when the government cut all communication lines. 

Mehraj moved to Middle East and worked there for a few years before returning to the Valley in 2023. He, however, revived Kashmir Box in 2020 and worked for it remotely. The startup received an overwhelming response from his clients. 

Entrepreneurship in Kashmir

In June, 2023, Mehraj put a post on LinkedIn, announcing the start of a community for entrepreneurship in Kashmir and named it Launchpad Kashmir. 

“I was surprised to see more than 300 to 400 members joining the community within a few weeks”, said Mehraj, “The concept was simple: to bridge between financial capital and intellectual capital”. 

It was followed by hosting conversations about organising an event to bring investors, entrepreneurs and industrialists  to begin a dialogue about the startups. 

Finally, on September 16, a startup conclave was organised in Sher-I- Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in collaboration with the government, drawing entrepreneurs and investors alike. J &K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha was the chief guest.

“After a series of discussions, we decided to come together and finally launched Launchpad Kashmir as a proper incubator that will work on the lines Y Combinator, a new model for funding early stage startups”, said Mehraj.

The other co-founders of Kashmir Launchpad are Khalid Wani, senior director at Western Digital; Namrata Kaul, director at Vivriti Capital; Kunal Harisinghani, chief commercial officer of FlapKap; Ishfaq Mir, co-founder of Kashmir Box; and Dawood Khan, principal engineer at Thndr. 

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