Kerala is working towards a four-fold increase in the number of startups by aiming to take their total to 15,000 in the next five years, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday.

To realise the plan, the government will set up technology labs and incubators that will play a critical role for nascent firms to transform the State into a knowledge society, he said after inaugurating a pioneering digital hub by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) at Kalamassery near here.

 

Since internet connectivity is crucial for the growth of startups, authorities have already come up with complementary projects such as K-Fon. The government will continue to ensure equitable distribution of resources while building an innovation ecosystem, the Chief Minister pointed out at the function marking the opening of the KSUM’s facility that aims to host a vibrant ecosystem comprising incubators, accelerators and Centres of Excellence in emerging technologies.

“The work space totalled two lakh square feet in 2019 when KSUM opened Technology Innovation Zone (TIZ). Today, the Digital Hub has helped double that space,” Vijayan said, pointing out that KSUM provides interest-free loans to startups. Venture funding with a corpus of ₹750 crore will be made available. Besides venture capital worth ₹250 crore are anticipated from financial institutions such as Kerala Bank, KSIDC, KFC and KSFE.

Innovation challenges

The Chief Minister stressed the “growing importance” of knowledge, innovation and creativity in a world where best ideas win in the market. “We are particular that shortage of funds should not stand in the way of conversion of a brilliant innovative idea into marketing reality,” he noted, referring to Digital Hub’s prospective emergence as one of South Asia’s largest product development centers for technology startups.

As Kerala’s startups will be linked internationally in a big way, KSUM will find its place on the global technological map. “We will organize programmes such as ‘Innovation Challenge’ for the youths to prove their competence. The winners will get government assistance to market their product,” the Chief Minister said.

The state-of-the-art Digital Hub at Technology Innovation Zone (TIZ) with a built-up space of 2 lakh square feet has a capacity to support 200 startups, besides the 165 startups hosted in the adjoining Integrated Startup Complex of KSUM. Housing a design incubator, healthcare incubator, CoE (Center of Excellence) for Mouser Electronics, co-working spaces, design studios, investors hive and an innovation center, the hub is envisaged to be a destination for designing and prototyping, opening for global organisations and institutions to build world-class products.

The State Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said the government was determined to go ahead with its plans to encourage the State’s young entrepreneurs. “We are giving focus to the semiconductor sector and are in talks with companies in Belgium,” he pointed out.

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