Telecom incubator inaugurated

Startup Village, India's first telecom business incubator under public-private partnership, will be a turning point in Kerala's development, Infosys co-founder and chief mentor of the venture Kris Gopalakrishnan has said.


Inaugurating the incubator — which envisions setting up at least 1,000 student startups — at Kinfra Park, Kalamassery, on Sunday, Mr. Gopalakrishnan termed the endeavour as a landmark in the State's growth.


“The change taking place in the State has not been understood by many. Technopark's stupendous success has not brought about a change in people's perception. Startup projects need a conducive ecosystem to flourish. Besides enhancing budding entrepreneurs' confidence and potential for success, it also helps fashion ideas,” he said.


“Lack of adequate finance impedes entrepreneurship, but Startup helps budding entrepreneurs tide over that,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.



Later, he planted a sapling on the village campus, the first of 1,000 saplings being planted there.


IT Secretary P.H. Kurian extended all support to the project and said there would be no roadblocks from the government's side for launching projects.


“Presently, the State has an atmosphere conducive for accelerated growth,” he said.


KSIDC managing director Alkesh Sarma said that Kerala had not lost even a single working day last year.


“However, people outside do not understand this. ‘Emerging Kerala' would be organised in the State next year in view of the change in the State's investment scene,” he pointed out.


Cusat Vice-Chancellor Ramachandran Thekkedath; entrepreneur Ravi Pillai; scientist B.K. Shukla of the Union Department of Science and Technology; TiE Kerala president John Paul; and Startup Village governing council chairman Sanjay Vijaykumar spoke.


The village envisages leveraging the impending explosive growth in smart phones and 4G to incubate the next 1,000 startups in India.


The scheme aims to transform job seekers into job creators.


It was set up collaboratively by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under the Department of Science and Technology and the Kerala government-run Technopark, in association with MobME Wireless – a private firm which began as a student start-up and has grown to become one of India's top 10 emerging companies.