Mittu Tigi

Profile Intro
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Mittu Tigi is an entrepreneur and startup ecosystem enabler with over a decade of contribution to the Indian startup ecosystem. Currently serving as Director at Merstra Foundation and State Chapter Lead at Headstart Network, he has mentored 500+ startups and enabled fundraises exceeding ₹20 Crores through grants, CSR, and venture capital channels. Formerly the CEO of AIC IIITK Foundation and Founder of Zhooyi, he also teaches Entrepreneurship at XIME Kochi and AIMER Business School.
Recognised as the Ecosystem Hero of the Year 2026 (South Asia) by Global Startup Awards and listed among India’s 50 Most Influential Incubator Leaders, Mittu was nominated to the Startup20 Taskforce Interest Group (G20 South Africa 2025) and has published teaching case studies on entrepreneurship in Scopus-indexed journals. He has spoken at global and national platforms, including the World Incubation Summit (Belgium), Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Huddle Global, in addition to 100+ entrepreneurship workshops across India.

Detailed Profile
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1. Strategic Ecosystem Builder & Consultant:
As a seasoned ecosystem builder, Mittu Tigi brings deep, hands-on experience in designing and operating startup support infrastructure across India. As CEO of AIC IIITK Foundation (an Atal Incubation Centre), he built institutional incubation capacity from the ground up. At Merstra Foundation, he leads consulting and capacity-building engagements for incubators, accelerators, and innovation intermediaries. As State Chapter Lead for Headstart Network Foundation, he anchors community-driven startup ecosystem development in Kerala.
His work spans programme design, incubator strategy, mentor network curation, and grant facilitation, enabling a cumulative fundraising of over ₹20 Crores for early-stage ventures through government schemes, CSR partnerships, and VC investments.

2. Startup Mentor & Enabler:
Having mentored over 500 startups across sectors and stages, Mittu works closely with founders on business model refinement, investor readiness, growth strategy, and market entry. His mentorship approach is rooted in real-world entrepreneurial experience - as the Founder of Zhooyi and Head of Growth at StaySigned, he has navigated the challenges of building and scaling ventures firsthand.

3. Speaker & Thought Leader:
Mittu has addressed audiences across 100+ platforms globally, including keynotes, panel moderations, masterclasses, and fireside chats. His featured speaking engagements include the World Incubation Summit (Ghent, Belgium), Rashtrapati Bhavan (Delhi), Huddle Global, Startup ka Mahakumbh (Delhi), and the Utkarsh Odisha Summit. He has anchored flagship events such as Bangalore SLUSH’D and the MicroVCs Summit.

4. Academician & Researcher:
As a Visiting Faculty at XIME Kochi and AIMER Business School, Mittu teaches Entrepreneurship and Growth Strategy to management students. He has published a teaching case study titled “Context-Inspired Entrepreneurship: Cases from India” in a Scopus-indexed journal by Springer-Nature. His academic grounding includes an Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, a Certificate Programme in Branding from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and a B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirapally.

Career Foundation: Before his work in the startup ecosystem, Mittu built over a decade of experience in corporate communications, graphic design, digital marketing, and brand strategy consulting - a foundation that shaped his entrepreneurial perspective and strategic approach to ecosystem building.

RECOGNITIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- Winner - Global Startup Awards, South Asia Region: “Ecosystem Hero of the Year 2026 - People’s Choice”
- Listed among India’s 50 Most Influential Incubator Leaders
- Nominated to the Startup20 Taskforce Interest Group (G20 South Africa 2025), representing India for the “Trade and Market Access” Task Force
- Published teaching case study in Scopus-indexed journal: “Context-Inspired Entrepreneurship: Cases from India” (Springer-Nature)

FEATURED SPEAKING PLATFORMS
- World Incubation Summit - Ghent, Belgium (2023) - Panelist
- Rashtrapati Bhavan - Keynote Address for Jagriti Yatra, Delhi (2018)
- Huddle Global 2025, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, 2025
- Aakam360 - StartupTN Next Summit - Panel on “Policy to Playbooks,” Salem (2025)
- AICRA Startup ka Mahakumbh - Delhi (2024)
- Utkarsh Odisha Summit - Keynote Address, Bhubaneswar (2025)

EDUCATION
- Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) - Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
- B.Tech, Electronics & Communication Engineering - Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirapally
- Certificate Programme in Branding - National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad