New Delhi: The Entrepreneurs Association of India (EAI) successfully hosted the 4th Bharat Entrepreneurship Summit 2025 at the NDMC Convention Centre, marking a milestone in the country’s startup journey.

The summit drew a record number of entrepreneurs from every Indian state and union territory—from Kerala to Kashmir and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands to Mizoram—reflecting the diversity and resilience of India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. With more than 5,000 nominations received, the event reaffirmed its status as one of the nation’s most impactful platforms for innovators.

Celebrating Grassroots to High-Growth Startups

From grassroots innovators to fast-scaling ventures, 65 entrepreneurs were felicitated with prestigious recognitions such as the Bharat Incubator Award, Bharat Entrepreneur Award, and Social Change Maker Award, underscoring their contribution to India’s growth story.

Distinguished Guests and Key Addresses

The summit was inaugurated under the leadership of Shri Abhishek Kumar, EAI President, with Delhi Industry Minister Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa as Chief Guest. Other dignitaries included former bureaucrat Shri Arun Kumar Sharma, Shri Pratap Somvanshi (Managing Editor, Hindustan), Shri Manoj Kumar Singh (Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh), Shri Amitabh Verma (former Banking Secretary), and Shri Vikas Preetam (Supreme Court Advocate).

Minister Sirsa lauded EAI for identifying entrepreneurs from even the remotest corners of the country and praised government initiatives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that foster self-employment, job creation and tech-driven economic growth.

World Bank’s Parmesh Shah delivered a keynote urging Indian startups to design products with global demand in mind, while sessions featuring Dr. Sambit Patra, Dr. Rashmi Singh, Shri Saurav Shah, and Dr. Kamaljit Anand highlighted the rising role of AI, machine learning and data science in new-age enterprises.

A third session, themed Viksit Bharat Through Emerging Technologies, brought insights from Prashant Kumar Jha (ADG, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau), Rohit Gupta (National Cooperative Development Corporation), Shashank Kumar (CEO, DeHaat), Praneta Upadhyay (Innovation Centre of South Asia, Geneva) and Rajesh Singh (World Bank), encouraging entrepreneurs to integrate advanced technology while building products.

Support Beyond Awards

Each awardee will receive one year of structured support from EAI—business strategy guidance, market linkages, funding mentorship, access to government schemes and opportunities for international collaboration.

About EAI

Founded in 2011, the Entrepreneurs Association of India is a not-for-profit working for over 13 years to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem. It has conducted 120+ Startup Yatra workshops and 56+ Krishi Samwad & Farmer Incubation programs, directly engaging more than 200,000 aspiring entrepreneurs, supporting 2,500+ startups and enabling 20,000+ jobs.

EAI is a founding member of the International Alliance of Young Entrepreneur Associations (Beijing) and draws mentors from MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Stanford and the World Bank. Its flagship incubation hub, Enterprising Zone, continues to receive global recognition.

Institutional Backing

The summit was supported by DPIIT (Startup India), MeitY, and incubation centres including NIT Raipur, Vignan University, ICAR–IARI (Pusa Krishi), IIIM–TBI CSIR, FTBI NIT Rourkela, BIET Jhansi, AIC-BIMTECH, and UPES.

A National Platform for Growth

Far more than an award function, the summit emerged as a national platform for collaboration, mentorship and growth, uniting entrepreneurs from metros, Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, and rural districts. Participants left with new networks, technologies and confidence to drive India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) forward.