Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan has said that the speedy growth of Startup Village, India’s first telecom incubator, will greatly enhance Kerala’s investment and industrial environment.
Speaking to media persons after announcing 20 outstanding start-ups here, he said the impressive performance of Startup Village within a short span of time had helped change the very perception about Kerala as these new ventures had turned out to be entrepreneurs and job-creators at the same time.
Emphasising that congenial atmosphere and sufficient infrastructure are integral to the growth of the start-up firms, he said Startup Village was able to put them in place to incubate the new companies.
Startup Village began its operations with 5,000 sq ft space which has now gone up to 10,000 square feet. It is likely to touch about 1 lakh sq ft within a year, he added.
Products from Startup Village had already started gaining popularity outside the country, thus enhancing its image globally, he said and hoped that such products would soon be household names all over the world. “We need our own Facebook and Google,” he said.
Kris, who is also the chief mentor of Startup Village, gave away certificates of merit to 20 outstanding start-up ventures on the occasion.
Bharati Group Global CEO Jai Menon, Kinfra MD Ramnath, Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar, and CEO Sijo Kuruvila George spoke on the occasion.