KSIDC startup cells in 2 cities

Aimed at fostering growth of start-ups and new enterprises, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has launched a start-up cell in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. The industrial body has also introduced dedicated helpline numbers for young and budding entrepreneurs.

The start-up cell can be accessed through telephone numbers 0471-2724812/9745017777 at Thiruvananthapuram and 0484-2321443/9745018888 at Kochi and email startupcell@ksidcmail.org.

Over the past few months, KSIDC has started receiving a steady stream of enquiries from start-ups in the State. These include both home grown enterprises as well as young Kerala entrepreneurs from outside, desirous of starting enterprises in the State.

This trend is consequent to the entrepreneur-friendly policies that the State Government has initiated in the last couple of years, Aruna Sundarajan, Managing Director, KSIDC said.

They specifically hired and trained a team of young professionals with entrepreneurial orientation to provide hand holding assistance to start ups. With a slew of initiatives across the board, she said the organisation is all set to reposition itself as the one-stop shop for all enterprises from fledgling start-ups to established large corporates.

To attract high quality innovation and entrepreneurship, KSIDC is in the process of establishing a knowledge network, linking centres of excellence such as Sri ChitraThirunal Institute of Science & Technology, Tropical Botanical Gardens & Research Institute, Kerala University for Fisheries & Oceanic Studies, and Amritha Institute of Science & Technology.

The initiatives such as the Life Sciences Park have already generated considerable interest amongst technically qualified professionals. Recently, KSIDC has also been working closely with agencies such as the CII and TiE to promote and nurture entrepreneurs in non IT-sectors such as Agri-tech / Food Processing / Electronics/ Green Industries etc, she added.