The Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL) – the new state-of-the-art incubation centre opened in Mallikatta on Friday – will lead to creation of new entrepreneurs in the area known for education, banking and healthcare, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Inaugurating CEOL at the Mangaluru City Corporation building here on Friday, Ms. Sitharaman said she was glad to spend ₹1.05 crore of her MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) funds for the facility that will make “tangible single difference for youngsters”. Such facility was needed for the young minds of the region who are looking for opportunities, she said.
The CEOL, which will be managed by the Society headed by Deputy Commissioner, will provide perfect ecosystem for youngsters to work on their ideas.
These ideas are not just restricted to software but also in fields of healthcare, agriculture and other fields. The centre will provide support of mentors for youngsters to fine tune their ideas and have start-ups.
The centre will get venture capitalists to invest in the start-ups. The CEOL would lead to the recreation of Silicon Valley in the west coast of India, she said.
Talking to reporters later, Ms. Sitharaman said there was good response for CEOL that has already received applications from 49 persons while there was space for 60 people.
The centre was expanding to provide space for 40 more persons. A committee headed by professionals will go through applications and do the selection of starting startups at the Centre.
“Neither I nor the Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel has any role to play in the selection,” she said.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Mr. Kateel said the incubation centre will serve well for the district has been home to nine medical colleges, 19 engineering colleges, five Universities and 150 degree colleges. Mangaluru City South MLA J.R. Lobo thanked Ms. Sitharaman for spending substantial amount of her MPLAD funds for CEOL, which will create new entrepreneurs in the coastal region.
