A young venture from Nagaland was among the businesses that travelled to Bharat Mandapam this month for the Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav 2026, bringing a company built in Kohima into a national business environment that also attracted international delegates, buyers and business representatives.
Pangerkumzuk Longkumer, founder of NEXUSCIPHERGUARD India, participated in the four-day trade exhibition held from August 12 to 15 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
Organised as a joint initiative of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav brought together businesses, traders, manufacturers, startups, institutions and other stakeholders from across India. The organisers also positioned the event as a platform for Indian businesses to connect with international markets.
Official information released ahead of the event projected more than 1,000 exhibitors, over two lakh business delegates and nearly 10 lakh visitors. The event material also listed more than 5,000 foreign delegates among the expected participants. Indian government missions promoting the event described it as an opportunity for Indian businesses to connect with buyers and business interests from around the world.
For a company from Nagaland, participation in such a setting carries a significance beyond simply being present at a large exhibition.
It places a business built in the Northeast in a commercial environment where companies are competing for attention, customers, partnerships and investment on a much wider scale.
Longkumer said the experience gave him an opportunity to look beyond the company’s immediate market and engage with people and businesses from outside the region.
“Being there gave us the opportunity to have conversations that would probably be difficult to have from within our usual market. I was able to connect with foreign delegates, explore potential markets and understand how people outside the region look at what we are building,” Longkumer said.
He said the conversations were not limited to potential customers.
The exhibition also brought opportunities to interact with people connected to investment and funding, giving the company exposure to a side of business development that is particularly relevant to a young technology venture.
“There were also conversations around funding, investment and possible opportunities for growth. Nothing should be taken as a confirmed investment simply because a conversation happened, but the exposure itself was valuable,” he said.
That distinction is important for a young company.
An exhibition can create introductions, but introductions do not automatically become customers, investors or long-term partnerships. The commercial value of such participation can only be judged over time by what those conversations eventually lead to.
NEXUSCIPHERGUARD India operates in the technology and digital security space, with work including cybersecurity awareness, vulnerability assessment, security consulting and related technology services.
The company was incorporated in Kohima in December 2024, with Longkumer listed as its director. Its relatively young age makes its participation at a large national trade exhibition notable, although the appearance itself should not be treated as evidence of commercial scale or market success.
For a technology business, particularly one working in digital security, establishing credibility outside its home market can take time.
Unlike a physical product that can be displayed and understood immediately, much of what a cybersecurity company provides is based on technical knowledge, trust and the ability to identify weaknesses that may not be visible until they are exploited.
That makes national exposure useful, but it also places a greater burden on the company to demonstrate what it can actually deliver.
For Longkumer, the opportunity was therefore not simply about putting the company in front of a larger audience.
“It was also about testing ourselves outside Nagaland. If you are building something from the Northeast, you have to eventually find out whether the same value proposition makes sense to people sitting in Delhi, Bengaluru or even outside India,” he said.
The experience also reflects a wider change in the nature of entrepreneurship in the Northeast.
Businesses from the region have long participated in national markets, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, food, handicrafts, textiles and tourism. Those industries remain important, but technology and digital services offer another route for companies based in the region to reach customers outside their immediate geography.
A cybersecurity company does not necessarily need to be physically located in one of India’s established technology centres to serve a customer elsewhere.
That does not mean the challenges disappear.
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Access to skilled professionals, financing, institutional networks, large customers and specialised business support can still be more difficult for companies operating from smaller markets. The question for regional technology ventures is whether they can build enough capability and credibility to overcome those disadvantages.
Longkumer’s participation at Bharat Mandapam offers one example of an entrepreneur attempting to do that.
His work has also been connected to a broader concern facing Nagaland and the Northeast as businesses and institutions become increasingly dependent on digital systems.
Cybersecurity risks are no longer confined to large corporations or government networks. Small businesses, educational institutions, professionals and individual users can face phishing, social engineering, compromised accounts, exposed information and other digital threats, often without dedicated security teams.
Longkumer has previously written and spoken about these concerns in the context of Nagaland and the wider Northeast. In May 2026, EastMojo published his commentary on the risks associated with digital growth without adequate attention to cybersecurity in Nagaland.
The growing dependence on digital systems creates an expanding need for security services, but it also makes the sector more demanding. Businesses and institutions increasingly want practical solutions rather than awareness alone.
That is where a young company such as NEXUSCIPHERGUARD has to prove itself.
There is also a need to keep the significance of the exhibition participation in perspective.
Being present at a large trade exhibition does not automatically establish a company as a major industry player. Nor does speaking with foreign delegates or people associated with investment and funding mean that business or investment deals have been secured.
The real measure will come later.
If the conversations made at Bharat Mandapam develop into clients, partnerships, market-entry opportunities, investment discussions or other measurable outcomes, the participation could become an important step in the company’s development.
If they do not, the event will still have served as an opportunity for exposure and market learning, but not necessarily as a commercial breakthrough.
Longkumer appears to view the distinction in those terms.
“The exhibition was an opportunity, not an achievement by itself. What matters now is whether we can take those conversations forward and turn them into something useful for the business,” he said.
That approach also places the participation within a broader question facing entrepreneurs from the Northeast: Can companies built in the region compete nationally and internationally without having to move their entire operations to India’s established commercial centres?
There is no simple answer. Infrastructure, access to talent, capital and market connections continue to matter. But technology-based businesses have an advantage that many location-dependent industries do not have. Their services can potentially be delivered across geographical boundaries.
For Nagaland, the emergence of such businesses is part of a broader shift in how entrepreneurship from the state can be viewed.
The story is no longer limited to businesses selling products associated with the region. There are also entrepreneurs attempting to build companies around technology, specialised knowledge and services that can find markets elsewhere.
Longkumer’s participation at Bharat Mandapam is one example.
It would be too early to describe it as a major national breakthrough for NEXUSCIPHERGUARD. There are still questions around the company’s growth, customer base, funding and ability to scale, as there are with any relatively young venture.
But the participation does provide a visible example of a business from Nagaland entering a national marketplace and beginning conversations that extend beyond the Northeast.
For Longkumer, some of those conversations now extend beyond India as well.
The immediate outcome may not be known for some time, but the exposure has given the company a wider set of possibilities to pursue.
From Kohima to Bharat Mandapam, the first part of that journey has been about getting into the room. The more important part will be what the company does with the opportunities it found there.
