Nagaland Digital Entrepreneurship and Startup Fest held at NIELIT Kohima; S Krishnan launches digital initiatives and presents awards.
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DIMAPUR — Ahibi has won the Best Seed Stage Startup award for its event-tech platform connecting artists, venues and audiences, with strong early adoption and a growing user base during the Nagaland Digital Startup Awards 2025 held on Monday at the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Kohima.
According to a DIPR report, Kikonik Tech bagged the Most Innovative Early Stage Product award for Pikonik, a business-operations app designed for small retailers and service providers.
JoldiPabo received the Outstanding Bootstrapped Success award for its rental and property-management platform, which has gained substantial traction even before full-scale tech deployment.
In the Innovative Startup (Non-Tech) category, 87T Entertainment emerged as the winner for its growing influence in curating live experiences and managing artists across major cultural platforms regionally and internationally.
The award ceremony, held as part of the Nagaland Digital Entrepreneurship and Startup Fest, was jointly organised by NIELIT Kohima and the Department of Information Technology and Communication.
Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), S Krishnan, attended the inaugural function as the special guest.
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Sharing impressions from his first visit to Nagaland, he spoke about witnessing the Hornbill Festival, visiting the World War II Museum at Kisama, and paying homage at the Kohima War Cemetery.
Krishnan noted that the digital economy is expanding at twice the pace of the overall economy. Citing MeitY’s study, he said India’s digital economy accounted for about 6–7% of the economy before 2010 and doubled by 2014. He highlighted the talent among Naga youth and emphasised the role of institutions like NIELIT. Out of 55 NIELIT centres in India, he said, 20 are located in the Northeast.
Speaking on cyber security, he stressed that India cannot depend on foreign technologies in this critical area. He described the Cyber Security Lab at NIELIT Kohima as state-of-the-art. He also appreciated the strong impression made by NIELIT Kohima and NIELIT Mokokchung at a recent AI event in New Delhi.
Underlining the importance of entrepreneurship, Krishnan said startups play a vital role in job creation. He highlighted the importance of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and suggested exploring the possibility of setting up a Software Park due to space constraints at STPI Kohima.
He suggested exploring the possibility of setting up a Software Park due to space constraints at STPI Kohima. He urged the state to capitalise on its service-sector potential. An interactive session with S Krishnan followed, during which participants raised various queries.
During the programme, Krishnan launched the Digital Learning and Simulation Hub, the Digital Delivery of Statutory Services initiative, and the Pulse App, an AI-powered news platform. The Conference Report of NCCDFI 2025 was also released.
In the technical session, Prof. Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi delivered an address, followed by mentor talks on scaling, fundraising and market access for digital startups. “Been There, Done That”, Honest Musings of Entrepreneurship, a segment featured speakers from Kikonik Tech, JoldiPabo, and Unimestudio. The event concluded with a panel discussion on Nagaland’s digital opportunity.