With nearly 70 startups already functioning in Mysuru and many more in the pipeline, the city is poised to witness a surge in entrepreneurial activity and innovation in the days ahead.
Moreover, with connectivity issues being resolved with improved roads and impending flights in due course, besides a good penetration of financial and educational institutions, Mysuru’s sobriquet of a ‘Pensioner’s paradise’ may soon be a thing of the past.
This idea came to the fore at the CII Young India’s #WhyNotMysuru summit held here on Saturday to find ways and means to promote the city as hub for startups and make it the first choice for entrepreneurs.
The CII said #WhyNotMysuru was an attempt to make the city the first choice for all startups, encourage entrepreneurship, and ensure entrepreneurs get inspired from successful speakers and learn to trust the process.
D. Randeep, Deputy Commissioner, addressing the young entrepreneurs, spoke at length on the inherent advantages of Mysuru that Bengaluru lacks, and that need to be harnessed. He cautioned that runway growth and development should not drive Mysuru the Bengaluru way and stressed upon the importance of retaining the characteristic features of Mysuru that makes it unique.
Heritage controls
Mr. Randeep said the government had introduced heritage controls and there was not much emphasis on vertical growth around monuments and heritage. On the advantages of the city and its hinterland, it was pointed out that there was no dearth of land around Mysuru and the State government was also promoting the city as an investment destination. This was paying dividends.
Recently, 100 acres of land were handed over for the construction of a film city, Mr. Randeep pointed out. He said Mysuru was set to become the first city in the country to have a public bicycle-sharing system and was an example of government synergy with private entrepreneurs.
The CII Mysuru Chairman N. Muthukumar said there still were questions about the business models and infrastructure in Mysuru for new ventures to take flight but the startups had grown to 70 and would reach 100 in due course. The city presented an opportunity in terms of market, talent, finance besides infrastructure that has to be tapped, he added.
Senior business leaders, venture capitalists and others addressed the gathering of nearly 250 entrepreneurs who attended the summit.
