Who We Are – FiiRE

#FiiRE

Who We Are?

FiiRE (Forum for Innovation Incubation Research and Entrepreneurship) is a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) established in September 2018 and is headquartered at Don Bosco College Campus in Fatorda, Goa- India. FiiRE also has branches in Margao, Sulcorna, and Panaji in Goa and is also present in Navi- Mumbai in Maharashtra. As a TBI, FiiRE is dedicated to nurturing startups and enabling their growth. FiiRE not only supports a wide range of industries but also fully embraces the transformative potential of the TourismTech ecosystem.

What is TourismTech ? Idea & Concept

Tourismtech encompasses technologies that reshape tourism for travelers, suppliers, and the environment. From travel and hospitality to mobility, smart cities, and Cleantech and FiiRE recognize the power of these innovations to enhance the tourism experience in any tourist geography.
We are committed to fostering startups in the TourismTech space, driving positive change and advancements within the industry.
Since the inception of FiiRE, 138 startups have been incubated here, out of which 40 startups have received funding. These startups have collectively generated employment opportunities for 338 individuals.

FiiRE has a wide range of funding options to grow your business, with categories from Early-stage funding, Prototyping developing funding, to Late-stage funding provided by Department of Science and Technology Govt. of India, Startup India to Private Investment. Funding programs at FiiRE includes NIDHI EIR, NIDHI PRAYAS, NIDHI Seed Support Scheme, and Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and private funding such as HDFC BANK PARIVARTAN GRANT. In February 2019, FiiRE launched its “Entrepreneurship Development Department” called “FiiRE Business” which encompasses all business and Entrepreneurship related activities. FiiRE Business has been working closely with NABARD and towards the development of Kunbi Handlooms. It also has a ”Enterprise Creation Program” to equip entrepreneurs with knowledge. In January 2023, FiiRE launched its Skill Division, Named “FiiRE Skills”, a division that is dedicated to providing livelihood opportunities through Teaching essential skills such as Diploma in Nursing Assistantship, Diploma in Medical Nursing Assistantship, Diploma in Electrical Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Certificate Course in Food and Beverage Production, Certificate Course in Food and Beverage Service.

Our Expert Team Members

FiiRE is powered by industry veterans who possess great skills and expertise and have successfully supported the launch of over 3000 enterprises and 100 startups in Goa during the last two decades.

Thejus Joseph

COO

Tushar Sawant

Enterprise Development Manager

Namdev Naik

Programme Manager

Renu Amballoor

Investment Manager

Arush Martins

Manager - Marketing & Communication

Kiraan Mehta

Head - Incubation and Innovation

Nevil Soares

Manager (Legal Affairs, Intellectual Property and Project Management)

Risha Milind Hegde

Community Manager

Schubert Fernandes

Information Technology Engineer

Drima Julicia Vas

Admin Staff

Our Mentors

Our domain, strategy and business experts play a key role in nurturing the ideators into investable startups

No	NAME OF MENTOR (INDUSTRY)	AREA OF EXPERTISE
1	K. Moorley Dharan (Inhouse)	Moorley is a Lean and 6-Sigma leader. He has a passion for driving results, coaching and continuous improvement.
2	Aniruddha Deshmukh	An experienced Industry Leader in Retail, Textiles (including Denim), FMCG, & Apparel. Come from a consumer, retail and brand focused approach.
3	Aditi Tiwari	Category extensions, Maintaining Brand P&L, Marketing Operations, Marketing Planning, Execution & Renovation.
4	Anil Joshi	Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, an SEBI approved venture fund under AIF-I Category.
5	Balaji Chakravarthi	Work with Founders, CEO. Heads of Sales & Digital Marketing of B2B firms and provide. ... science in their selling process to establish a Consistent Sales Engine.
6	Deepak Pathania	Industrial Designer from NID-Ahmedabad who's a prolific Inventor, Youtube Educator and now a MedTech Entrepreneur. He's also a design philanthropist ready to help startups with ideas and solutions using 2 decades of multi-disciplinary experience.
7	Jyothi Karandiker Iyer	Jyothi brings to projects a strong combination of technical and people oriented skills.
8	Kishore Shah	Consulting clients include Tata Motors Ltd., Lupin, Kimberly Clarke, Sanofi Aventis, Mahindra & Mahindra, Grindwell Norton, Saint Gobain, Getit Infomedia, Aminatit Fibre Glass, GTDC, HPFL, Rehau Polymers, Govt. of Sri Lanka, Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, Ratiopharm TEVA, Colgate Palmolive India Ltd., Shimadzu Pte Singapore ,Titan ,and many more.
9	Purushottam Modani	Experienced Investor with a demonstrated history of working in the venture capital and private equity industry.
10	Ronald D’Souza	Cross-functional experience in Human Resources, Marketing and Business Development and was most recently Vice President of Global delivery, tools and processes at Alcatel-Lucent. Have worked in Ernst & Young, Kellogg and Procter & Gamble.
11	Robert Lobo	Career in the core domain of Branded Apparel & Textile, 20 years spent in Leadership roles value across Global Organisations and Large Indian Promoter led Corporations.
12	Samit Moye	Proven ability to improve operations, impact business growth & maximize profits through achievements in finance management, cost control & reductions and productivity improvements.
13	Vikrant Potnis	Investments and Fundraising.
14	Vishwanath N Kochkar	President, Goa Small Industries Associations.
15	Dr. Kala R. Nayak	Statistics.
16	Dr.Gaurang S Patkar	Soft Computing, Natural Language Processing, Image Processing.
17	Dr.Varsha Turkar	Image Processing, Machine Learning, GIS, Remote sensing (Geospatial Technologies).
18	Jeffrey Sanvin Valadares	Pile design and Integrity, Geotechnical forensic.
19	Amey K. Shet Tilve	Natural Language Processing, Machine learning.
20	Kaushik V. Pai Fondekar	Structural Engineering.
21	Mr. Gaurish M Samant	Additive Manufacturing / Reverse Engineering / Design For Manufacturing.
22	Natasha D'souza e Jaques	Graph Theory.
23	Yeshudas Muttu	Biomedical Signal Processing/ Microwave Networks.
24	Dr. Karim Tobich	PhD in Automatics & Microelectronics Systems from the University of Montpellier, France with experience of over 15 years in the security and cybersecurity field addressing security issues within the payment industry, IoT environment, and cyberspace. Currently the director of Cybersecurity and Technology consultancy, technical expert member and a contributor to the IoT Security Foundation providing best practice guides to companies and governments He is an international expert of the ISO - SC27 dedicated to Information security, Cybersecurity and privacy protection.