Mumbai: The inaugural JewelStart 2026 Industry Innovation Challenge has completed its virtual evaluation round, bringing 27 shortlisted startups before an expert jury to present technology-led solutions for some of the gem and jewellery industry’s most pressing operational challenges.
The three-day pitch round was conducted from 15th to 17th July 2026 by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in partnership with the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay. The initiative seeks to connect clearly defined industry problems with startups capable of developing practical, scalable and commercially viable solutions.
The challenge followed nearly six months of consultation with manufacturers, retailers, innovators and other industry stakeholders. GJEPC approached approximately 50 companies and collected more than 90 problem statements covering different stages of the jewellery value chain.
Working with SINE IIT Bombay, these submissions were examined and consolidated into 22 priority industry challenges, which formed the foundation of the first JewelStart Industry Innovation Challenge.
The programme received more than 120 startup applications. Of these, 62 complete submissions were considered during the initial assessment, after which 27 startups advanced to the virtual pitch round.
The shortlisted startups presented technologies intended for possible application across jewellery manufacturing, retail, automation, traceability, sustainability, inventory management, supply-chain operations and digital transformation. JewelStart also allows companies from adjacent sectors—including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, logistics and financial technology—to participate where their solutions can be adapted to the gem and jewellery industry.
Vikrant Pradhan, Director – Events, GJEPC, said the objective was to bring innovators from outside the traditional jewellery ecosystem into direct contact with real operational problems faced by the industry.
The evaluation was conducted across five parameters: the strength of the product or solution, level of innovation, alignment with the selected industry problem, capability of the founding team to execute the proposal and readiness to enter an incubation programme.
Each parameter carried 20 marks. Startups were given 15 minutes before the jury, consisting of an eight-minute presentation followed by a seven-minute question-and-answer session.
According to Disha Kadam, Program Manager and Coordinator at SINE IIT Bombay, the jury also considered whether each proposed technology had practical relevance for jewellery businesses and whether the startup was prepared to benefit from structured incubation.
From the 27 evaluated startups, seven are expected to advance to the final stage. They are scheduled to present their solutions during JewelStart Demo Day on 8 August 2026 before jewellery companies, investors, industry mentors and other stakeholders.
The selected startups will gain access to industry mentorship, incubation support and potential investment opportunities aimed at refining and commercialising their technologies.
JewelStart was launched by GJEPC as a dedicated innovation, incubation and acceleration platform for the gem and jewellery sector. By beginning with industry-defined challenges rather than standalone technology concepts, the programme seeks to create solutions that can eventually be tested and implemented across factories, retail businesses and supply-chain operations
