The Nagaland Digital Entrepreneurship & Startup Fest, jointly organized by the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) Kohima and the Department of Information Technology & Communication, was held at NIELIT, Kohima on 8th December 2025.
Secretary of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), S. Krishnan, IAS, graced the inaugural function as the Special Guest. 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. He reflected on Kohima’s historic significance and the potential Nagaland holds today.
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, doubled by 2014, and is expected to reach around 20% by 2023. He highlighted the abundant talent among Naga youth—particularly their creativity and English proficiency, and emphasized the role of institutions like NIELIT in nurturing these potentials. Out of 55 NIELIT centers 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 and among the best in the country, contributing significantly to cyber policing. 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 expressed hope that more startups and collaborations would emerge from the region. He also highlighted the importance of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in mobilizing private equity and appreciated the functioning of 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 capitalize 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.
The programme featured presentation of the Nagaland Digital Startup Awards 2025 where Krishnan gave away the prizes to the winners. Ahibi 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. 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.
Commissioner & Secretary, P&AR and Power, Mohammed Ali Shihab, IAS, in his address, expressed appreciation to S. Krishnan for his visit. He noted that as Nagaland advances through a developmental phase with increasing engagement from development agencies, institutions like NIELIT hold an important role.
Earlier, Director of NIELIT Kohima, L. Lanuwabang, delivered the welcome address while the vote of thanks was proposed by the Director, Department of IT&C, Sabou Yashu. The programme was also attended by Chairman of the Job Reservation Commission, R. Ramakrishnan, IAS (Retd.); Director General & Vice Chancellor of NIELIT, Prof. (Dr.) Madan Mohan Tripathi; government officials and students from various institutions.
In the technical session, Prof. (Dr.) Madan Mohan Tripathi delivered a special address, followed by mentor talks on Scaling, Fundraising & Market Access for Digital Startups. “Been There, Done That”, Honest Musings of Entrepreneurship, segment featured speakers from Kikonik Tech, JoldiPabo, and Unimestudio. The event concluded with a panel discussion on Nagaland’s Digital Opportunity- From Labs to Scalable Startups.
(Wepre Kronu, APRO)
