Ahmedabad : The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Gujarat launched the first edition of AROHAN 2026 – Startup Scale-Up Dialogue in Ahmedabad. The event brought startup founders, investors, corporates, financial institutions, and policymakers together to create practical solutions for scaling high-growth businesses.
Held under the theme “Transforming Innovators into Industrial Anchors,” the day-long dialogue focused on helping startups access capital, markets, mentorship, and strategic partnerships.
Gujarat Strengthens Innovation Ecosystem
The event featured Arjun Modhwadia, Hon’ble Minister for Forests and Environment, Climate Change, Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, as the Guest of Honour.
Addressing the gathering, he highlighted the launch of the Viksit Gujarat Data Centre Policy 2026-2029, describing it as a major step toward strengthening India’s digital infrastructure. He also said Gujarat aims to lead India’s semiconductor growth while advancing its quantum computing mission.
The Minister also launched the CII Gujarat Enterprise Scale Cohort (ESC), a new initiative designed to help startups convert ideas and discussions into measurable business growth.
Industry Leaders Back Startup Growth
Opening the dialogue, Rutvik Patel, Convenor of the CII Gujarat Startup Taskforce, said AROHAN aims to create an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can directly engage with investors, industry leaders, policymakers, and financial institutions.
He said Indian startups already possess talent and innovation. However, founders also need stronger access to funding, mentorship, markets, and industry networks. With networking discussion, Rutvik Patel provided insight on why startups fail and what can be the reasons. Quality, Finance and Market are three factors which makes startup successful.
Premraj Keshyep, Immediate Past Chairman of CII Gujarat, said every successful industrial enterprise once started as a small idea. He added that CII will continue supporting entrepreneurs from the startup stage to becoming large industrial businesses.
Founders Share Scale-Up Experiences
Sahil Shah, Vice President – Marketing at Petpooja and Founder of Hungrito, shared lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. He encouraged founders to embrace failures as opportunities for innovation. He also highlighted Petpooja’s operational scale, processing more than six million restaurant bills every day across over one lakh outlets.
Parag Jobanputra, Co-founder and CEO of IINDEPRO Dynamics, spoke about representing India among the top 100 startups at Bharat Innovates in Nice, France. He said global platforms are creating new opportunities for Indian deep-tech startups.
Dr. Shalin Maheshwari, Chairman and Co-founder also gave insightful information about startup eco system and also shared his views about how Ease of Doing business evolved in Gujarat and what is the bottle neck for the same. He added that concept is very clear but main thing is clear communication is the key.
Experts Discuss Funding and Market Expansion
The dialogue featured two expert panel discussions.
The first explored how startups can balance equity funding, debt financing, and new investment platforms while building sustainable businesses.
The second focused on government grants, incubation support, and public infrastructure that can help startups expand into larger markets.
Networking Creates Business Opportunities
The second half of the event included a technical workshop on industry-startup collaboration led by Vaishnavi Reddy, Director, CII CIES.
Participants later joined structured networking sessions that resulted in nearly 30 business-to-business (B2B) meetings, creating new opportunities for partnerships and collaborations.
CII Gujarat said AROHAN 2026 aims to become a long-term platform that supports founders throughout their growth journey and strengthens Gujarat’s position as one of India’s leading startup destinations.
