KOCHI: State IT Secretary M. Sivasankar on Saturday proposed the setting up of a government-partnered funding system for start-ups complete with a virtual platform where entrepreneurs can network with investors, find seed-funding, and market their products, to create a strong and vibrant start-up ecosystem in the State.
He was addressing a gathering on the opening day of ‘Seeding Kerala-2’ meet organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) at Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology here. Mr. Sivasankar observed that the virtual platform would help young entrepreneurs tackle the most difficult aspects of building a start-up. “In an age when we have a number of youngsters coming up with bright ideas, a virtual platform for seed-funding will be ideal since finding investments to raise and grow the business is the most challenging part. This platform can even be used for one-on-one meetings for business purposes and get more traction for the products,” Mr. Sivasankar was quoted as saying.
Backing the proposal, KSUM Chief Executive Officer Saji Gopinath said a funding system at the government level for start-ups would be a pioneering initiative in the country.
“Seed-funding through a government-initiated platform will give more credibility and transparency to start-up companies,” he said, adding that KSUM was planning to induct more accelerators into the start-up ecosystem as part of its Phase-III development agenda.
The two-day conclave, organised by KSUM in partnership with Let’s Venture, Konglo Ventures, Nasscom, and TiE Kerala, saw a number of eminent investors share their experiences of backing start-ups and their ideas for improving the support system.
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, vice president (investments) of Let’s Venture, noted that investors saw a bright future for the start-up ecosystem in Kerala. “The coming two years will see a big boost in angel investment in the start-up ecosystem. The favourable scenario will spur budding entrepreneurs to reach out to wider markets,” he added.
Sharing his experience as an angel investor, R. Kamath, co-founder of Next Education, said that in the absence of an organised database, it becomes harder to find good companies to invest in.
The opening day also saw keynote speeches by Rahul Alex Panicker, whose Embrace Innovations firm was recognised by the UN; Varun Chandran, CEO of Corporate360; Arjun Mohan, vice president, marketing, at Think and Learn Pvt. Limited (Byju’s Learning App); Aronin P, CEO of Sastra Robotics India Pvt. Ltd.; Jithin Sreedhar, CEO of UnityLiving and Beena Ammanath, vice president (innovation), board director and advisor, GE Digital; Anil Joshi, founder of Unicorn Ventures; Mehboob M.A., managing director at Secura Investment Management; Ashok G., fund partner at SEA Fund, and Shilen Sagunan, CEO at SS Consulting.
