Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) concluded its pioneering six-day programme with a ‘Women Startup Summit 2020’ that made a clarion call for launching businesses that can improve the living standards of common people.

Mr Mohammed Y Safirulla, State IT Secretary, while inaugurating the event, said new-age entrepreneurs should make greater use of modern technology that can resolve issues such as waste management and water shortage.

The prize-winners at the summit should not lose time in hitting the market with their innovative gadgets, he told the 750 delegates at the event the KSUM organised in association with Startup India, TiE Kerala and Indian Women Network of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Dr Chithra S, Kerala State IT Mission Director, announced the winners and felicitated the change-makers at the summit. KSUM-incubated Riafy Technologies of Kochi was declared the Best Inclusive Startup, while IIMK Live of Kozhikode became the Best Inclusive Incubator. Sahrdaya College of Engineering and Technology, Kodakara (Thrissur district) was chosen the Best Inclusive IEDC.

Ms Shalini Warrier, Federal Bank Executive Director, highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in future technologies. AI has enabled her bank’s recruitment wing to bring down expenditure by 75 per cent, she added.

The most-awaited competition named ‘She Loves Tech India 2020’ saw close to 100 participants vying for honours with their women-friendly products. Bioscan Research Pvt Ltd qualified for the international level, while the runners-up were Spookfish Innovations, AI, Infinite Circle Inc and India Pvt Ltd. The event also announced the winners of Hackathon.

At ‘She Loves Tech’, 12 entrepreneurs presented their products to invite potential investors. As many as 28 entrepreneurs got expert advice from KSUM’s Investor Café.

The summit, which aims to boost female presence in entrepreneurial ventures, held sessions on the chances women get in launching technology startups and the challenges they face in the process.

The speakers included She Loves Tech Co-founder Virginia Tan, Startup India Hub Chief Aastha Grover, Tech Ready Women Academy founder Christie Whitehill, India Angel Network Cofounder Padmaja Ruparel, Pure Living founder Lakshmi Menon, Open Financial Technologies Co-founder Deena Jacob, media person Rekha Menon, Chemmanur Academy Director Anisha Cherian, Cognizant AVP Maya Sreekumar, Amazon Strategic Initiative Head Deepti Dutt, AWE founder Seema Chaturvedi, Adobe Head of Programmes Garima Babbar, Meena Accenture Interactive MD T J Lightwala and Sunrise Hospital MD Parveen Hafeez.

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Seeking to provide the best business opportunities for start-ups by seizing the demand from the corporate sector, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is organising a five-day “Corporate Demand Week” from November 2, in association with National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).

Planned under NASSCOM Industry Partnership Programme (NIPP), around six major corporate firms namely Hindustan Unilever Limited, ICICI Securities, Falabella, PSA Group, Credit Suisse and TATA AIA will participate in the event.

These reputed entities will be seeking innovative technical solutions for around 15 problems in fintech, enterprise tech, edutech, mobility, and HR tech sectors. In the first phase, called Reverse Pitch, the firms will interact with start-ups highlighting their necessities. Start-ups should submit the solutions that meet the demand of the corporates before November 22.

KSUM and NIPP will jointly select the best and practical products before December 5 and hand over them to the respective corporate firms. The selected products will be displayed in thevirtual expo of the “Big Demo Day”, an event being organised by KSUM in every two months, from December 14 to 19.

Startups with KSUM Unique ID can only register for “Corporate Demand Week”. For registration, visit: 

For more details, visit:https://business.startupmission.in/nasscom or contact: 9605206061.

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Setting a platform for industry and investors to leverage products and services from the startup ecosystem at affordable costs to tap post-COVID opportunities, a virtual exhibition will be held from October 19 to 21 in the third edition of ‘Big Demo Day’ series of Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM).

Around 34 start-ups from healthcare, consumer technology, Internet of things (IoT) and robotics domains will exhibit their cutting-edge products and services for industry to seize.

The virtual expo is aimed at presenting a slew of ideas and technologies developed by start-ups before Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as big businesses to help them make use of these products to strengthen businesses, especially in the post-pandemic economic surge.

Organised in association with industry bodies, the programme seeks to make technologies available for industrialists at reasonable costs, besides expanding the market for start-ups.

The health sector start-ups will showcase their products on October 19 while those from consumer technology will take part in the expo, scheduled from 10am to 4pm, on October 20.Startups from the Internet of things (IoT) and robotics sectors will put on display their products on October 21.

Industrialists, industry bodies and investors from healthcare, consumer technology, IoT and robotics sectors are also expected to participate.

The programme has the backing of IT entrepreneurs’ organisation G-Tech and various Indian corporate firms.

To watch the expo, visit https://business.startupmission.in/ at 10 am. The previous editions of the event had received encouraging response from industry.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State.

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Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has planned an online panel discussion on “Opportunities in media sector in state’s startup ecosystem’ on September 26, at 3.30 pm.

The webinar is being organised in association with media-related organisations such as Kesari Memorial Journalists Trust, alumni forum of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Kerala and Facebook groups, Journalism Career Support and Journalism Academic Support.

Promoters of various media startup ventures will participate in the programme, sharing their experience and discussing prospects of entrepreneurship in media in the promising startup ecosystem of the state.

The panelists include Founder CEO of Channeliam Nisha Krishnan, Qkopy Founder CEO Arun Peruli, CAT Entertainments founder CEO and producer Amarnath Shankar and KSUM Corporate Innovations Lead Prajith Prabhakaran. Senior journalist S. Radhakrishnan will moderate the programme.

The participation is free. Those interested can join the programme by registering on www.bit.ly/ksumpd26sep.

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The second edition of ‘Big Demo Day’, organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with industry bodies, will be focusing on startups providing financial, education and enterprise technologies, stressing their increased relevance in the unfolding scenario.

Through the event, to be held from August 24 to 28, KSUM is offering a platform for industry to tap on products and services from the startup ecosystem at affordable costs.

‘Big Demo Day’ aims at presenting a wide range of ideas and technologies developed by startups beforeMicro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as corporate to help them leverage these products to strengthen businesses.
Startups with good scalable products and services beneficial for industries and corporate can apply for the programme, which has the backing of IT entrepreneurs’ organisation G-Tech and various Indian corporate firms.

For registration, visit: www.bit.ly/ksumbdd2. The last date of application is August 1.

More than 100 startups participated in the inaugural edition of the programme, which had more than 2,000 visitors. Besides, 300-plus live interactions were held.
Startups with KSUM Unique ID and Startup India DPIIT certificate will be considered. Products and services which are readily available and deployable will only be considered for the ‘Big Demo Day’. The shortlisting will be based on the industry demand for the submitted product.

In the post-Covid scenario, technology and digitisation will be indispensable to the business world. ‘Big Demo Day’, an event being held in every two months, aims at making technologies available for industrialists in an affordable and reasonable manner, thereby creating better businesses for startups.

The potential business tie-ups will be facilitated through KSUM’sCross Sell digital business platform,a virtual marketplace for startups to showcase their products to industry.

The platform, www.business.startupmission.in, facilitates enrolling of both startups and industry. Startups can display brochures of their products on the platform, and if they are in tune with the requirement of industry, the industrialists can interact with them in a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

In the post-corona times, such a platform will have enormous significance as businesses and industry will be critically dependent on technology and digitalisation.

Besides, the industry can post their requirements on the Cross Sell business platform while startups will come forward with suitable solutions. The platform also offers an opportunity for investors and stakeholders to interact and forge partnerships with startups to scale up their businesses.

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Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will conduct its Reverse Pitch series, seeking to line up start-ups to provide technical support to industries to modernize their enterprises and scale up marketing, from July 8.

Various industry associations and industry firms, including Eram Scientific, Belgian firm AB InBev, Kuttukaran Group, CREDAI and Jackfruit Promotion Consortium, a collective of institutions in jackfruit processing sector, will participate in the event.

The programme, which is scheduled at 3pm, will get underway by providing tips to the Jackfruit Promotion Consortium to help its members find a global market for their value-added products through online and technical aid from startups, including cold storage facility for keeping jackfruit fresh.

The consortium also aims at creating a link between jackfruit farmers and industrialists through the programme.

On July 10, France-based investment bank Societe Generale will take part in the Reverse Pitch programme from 3.30 pm.

As the state nodal agency for the start-up ecosystem, KSUM has embarked on an ambitious project to connect a wide array of enterprises with start-ups, so that they could considerably reduce the cost for modernization and digitization of businesses. They will also be provided with opportunities to directly contact the start-ups under KSUM to address their needs.

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