Investment of ₹ 70 Crore in Startups from Various Sectors Announced by KSUM of Kerala

Investments of Rs 70 crore into startups from various sectors were announced on Saturday at the fifth edition of the two-day 'Seeding Kerala' investment summit, organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) here.

The startups that lapped up the funds include Sporthood, Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt Ltd, Bumberry, ilove9months, Entri and ZappyHire, an official release said.

The announcement was made on the concluding day of the summit in the presence of M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary (Electronics and IT), Kerala government and Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM.

Bengaluru-based Sporthood, a startup for sports enthusiasts, got investment from SEA Fund, which made its fourth investment in Kerala out of its seven investment ventures.

Founded by Rahul Antony Thomas, Arun V Nair, Nikhilesh M R and Vikram Devare, Sporthood has a community of 30,000 kids and adults subscribed to the platform. It has 21 established sports clubs across Bengaluru and Kochi.

Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt Ltd has got investment from matrimony.com, one of the largest matrimonial companies in India. It's the first investment by the Chennai-based firm.

Astro Vision has been providing Vedic-based astrology solutions to consumers in more than 10 Indian languages for over three decades and has generated more than 110 million horoscopes.

Bumberry, a startup that manufactures eco-friendly and re-usable cloth diapers, has raised fund from Kerala Angel Network (KAN), led by a group of investors, the release said. It is KANs maiden investment in a startup. Bumberry was founded by Kutty Krishnan, an educator by profession.

Bumberry diapers come as natural bamboo cotton pad and pocket diapers.

US-based Equifin VC will be investing in Maternia Care Technologies Pvt Ltd., which owns the brand ilove9months, a women-led maternity-focused startup.

It is also the maiden investment venture in India by the US firm.

Another startup Entri, a learning app in local languages that has over 1.6 million users, is funded by Good Capital.

Founded by Mohammed Hisamuddin, Entri first started providing a database of questions for government recruitment examinations in Malayalam.

Smart Sparks Angel Network will invest in ZappyHire, which gives companies the flexibility on what tools they would like to use, based on their hiring requirements such as assessment and candidate profiling.

On the occasion, officials of Pavizham Oil and Rice handed over its Corporate Social Responsibility fund of Rs 9.4 lakh to startup Red Button as part of the Red Button public safety programme.

The project, to be implemented in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur initially, is about installing a robotic system in public areas to ensure public safety, especially for women, and also bridge the gap between the police and public.

Moreover, Kochi-based startup Watasalere paid the Rs six lakh seed fund to the Kerala government as a goodwill gesture.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

Cisco to bring Benefits of IoT & Data Science to Kerala Farming Communities

Global computer networking giant Cisco has signed an MoU with the Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) to bring the benefits of digital technology including Internet of Things (IoT) and data science to farming communities in Kerala, as part of its Country Digitization Acceleration (CDA) programme.

The first phase of this initiative will be rolled out in 15 panchayats across Kannur district.

As per the the MOU, Cisco will build an Agri-Digital Infrastructure (ADI) Platform and set up Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) for knowledge delivery and provide access to e-learning and advisory services to the farming and fishing communities in Kannur.

The ADI Platform will provide access to a datastore with complete farming data of paddy and prawns farms in the region along with land and farmer profile databases.

This datastore will run Cisco's robust analytics and computer engines to extract insights on crop yields, weather patterns, plant disease patterns, soil quality, moisture content, forecasting and other data, and make it available to farmers and government officials through the VKCs.

This Cisco ADI Platform, which will eventually become a centralised knowledge hub, will provide data-based recommendations and insights to improve agriculture planning, reduce the risk of crop mortality and overall operational costs.

To provide a a custom-built Smart Agricultural Platform to Kerala farmers, the ADI Platform will utilize IoT sensors, Non-IoT databases, and satellite/UAV images to gather and relay real-time intelligence on soil content, moisture, weather conditions and other parameters.

The Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) will allow farmers to access essential information on government policy updates, crop advisory services, market trends, rates and best practice videos. Farmers will also gain accessibility to government-provisioned financing on a Content Management System through a mobile application and web portal.

Cisco’s Harish Krishnan said the impact of technology can be transformational for those who need it most, elevating standards of living and foster economic development.

M Sivasankar, IT Principal Secretary, said the government's vision is to turn the state into a knowledge society with sustainable economic growth, technological advancements and better quality of life for all.

To recall, in 2016 Cisco had signed an MoU with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), and iCreate, to establish an Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation hub in order to accelerate digital transformation progress in the state of Gujarat.

Source - Mathrubhumi

Kerala Ties with Airbus for Startup Accelerator in Thiruvananthapuram

Soon within few days after announcing the launch of its latest cohort of its 4th Bizlab accelerator batch, Airbus Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerala state government for setting up BizLab in Thiruvananthapuram city of Kerala.

Under the MoU, an Innovation Centre will be set up here which will be the nodal body for planning and executing all the activities to help startups in the state. The MoU was inked between Siddharth Balachandran, Airbus Bizlab India and Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Aerospace Innovation Centre in #Kerala at Trivandrum - A significant step towards reality. Kerala Government signs a MoU with Airbus BizLab, a global aerospace accelerator part of the Airbus group. @CMOKerala @airbusbizlab @Gutbruno @SidRdy @Csanth @ShashiTharoor @Airbus pic.twitter.com/LczeQIMSc4

— Kerala Startup Mission (@startup_mission) November 17, 2018

With this, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala will second Bizlab center in India after Bengaluru and fifth globally. Airbus Bizlab already has four startup accelerator sites globally -- Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Bangalore (India) and Madrid (Spain).

"We are confident that this partnership with Airbus Bizlab will help the industrial ecosystem of Kerala. It will up-skill the local youth and enhance employability," said Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan.

Besides accelerating startpus in aerospace field, the proposed Airbus BizLab site in Thiruvananthapuram will also provide support and mentoring for startups in Kerala and conduct regular workshops and discussions with experts from the aerospace and defence sectors.

Additionally, Airbus will also identify opportunities for Kerala to adapt aerospace technologies across sectors and bring all the relevant Airbus teams and startups to demonstrate technologies.

This year, KSUM, the nodal agency for entrepreneurship & startup activities in Kerala, has partnered with several global business houses in varied industries. in June this year Kerala partnered with aotomobile major Nissan, which already set up its first digital innovation hub in India in Technocity, Thiruvananthapuram. The Nissan Hub is for research and development in electric and autonomous vehicles.

Most recently, KSUM has invited request for proposal (RFP) from SEBI-accredited alternative investment funds (AIFs) under its ‘Fund-of-Fund’ (FoF) scheme to invest in the startups from Kerala and thus meet the fund requirements of fledgling technology enterprises.

Also, to incubate and promote startups in the satellite and space technology sector, a space tech park is also coming up in Thiruvananthapuram and for this Kerala has already tied up with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in March this year. The one of its kind Space Park would likely to be up and running by June next year. An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the two will be signed soon.

Source - The Hindu

[Top Featured Image - Bizlab@Twitter]

ISRO, Kerala Tie-Up To Incubate and Promote Startups In Satellite, Spacetech Sector

While most of the Indian startup ecosystem is focused towards e-commerce and internet-based entrepreneurial activities, Kerala -- in a unique preposition -- has tied up with Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to incubate and promote startups in the satellite and space technology sector, reported Indian Express.

In a collaboration between the two, Kerala state government will set up India's first of its kind ‘space park’ with the technical support from ISRO.

"There’re a number of space technology startups in India, most of them based in Bengaluru. If government support is provided, they can flourish into major business establishments in the future.", said a top official of Kerala IT department, to Indian Express.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had discussed starting a space park in the state with the ISRO and they’ve promised to provide technical support to the project, added the official.

However, it is to be noted that the space park is still in a nascent stage and a lot of work has to be done to realise this project.

In a media interaction, M Sivasankar, Secretary to Government, Electronics and IT Department, Kerala said, "Hundreds of officers retire from the ISRO every year. Similarly, hundreds of graduates pass out from premier centres like Indian Institute of Space Technology. If we create a platform to tap the knowledge potential of these two groups, it can lead to a major contribution to space technology." The idea of space park was conceptualized during meeting of the Chief Minister with top ISRO officers a few months ago.

Related Reading - This Indian Startup Founder Is Touted As India’s ‘Interstellar Woman’ By Fortune Magazine

Earlier this year, Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Team Indus' ambitious plan to land robot on the moon got destroyed when ISRO cancelled the contract as the startup could not able to raise sufficient funds. Therefore, if the idea of Kerala's space park takes in the form of reality and become operational then startups like Team Indus would indeed get lot of help and encouragement to pursue their space technology dreams. Notably, Team Indus was the only Indian entry into Google Lunar X Prize, a global race to reach the moon. Team Indus also had a “rideshare” agreement with Japanese space startup to carry a 4 kg robotic rover on its 600-kg spacecraft.

Besides Team Indus, another more popular spacetech startup from India is Earth2Orbit [E2O], India’s first private space startup, which facilitates satellite launches for various countries, international organizations and companies using Indian launch vehicles such as PSLV of ISRO.

ISRO is indeed a role model for other countries' space agencies in space technology and its applications which have been contributing to the India’s economy apart from the exploration of space and planets. Last year, we reported as how ISRO pose a hidden tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups in India as its geospatial and weather-related data can be explored by the startups for coming up with innovative solutions so much so that startups could make millions using ISRO data.

ISRO, Kerala Tie-Up To Incubate and Promote Startups In Satellite, Spacetech Sector

While most of the Indian startup ecosystem is focused towards e-commerce and internet-based entrepreneurial activities, Kerala -- in a unique preposition -- has tied up with Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to incubate and promote startups in the satellite and space technology sector, reported Indian Express.

In a collaboration between the two, Kerala state government will set up India's first of its kind ‘space park’ with the technical support from ISRO.

"There’re a number of space technology startups in India, most of them based in Bengaluru. If government support is provided, they can flourish into major business establishments in the future.", said a top official of Kerala IT department, to Indian Express.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had discussed starting a space park in the state with the ISRO and they’ve promised to provide technical support to the project, added the official.

However, it is to be noted that the space park is still in a nascent stage and a lot of work has to be done to realise this project.

In a media interaction, M Sivasankar, Secretary to Government, Electronics and IT Department, Kerala said, "Hundreds of officers retire from the ISRO every year. Similarly, hundreds of graduates pass out from premier centres like Indian Institute of Space Technology. If we create a platform to tap the knowledge potential of these two groups, it can lead to a major contribution to space technology." The idea of space park was conceptualized during meeting of the Chief Minister with top ISRO officers a few months ago.

Related Reading - This Indian Startup Founder Is Touted As India’s ‘Interstellar Woman’ By Fortune Magazine

Earlier this year, Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Team Indus' ambitious plan to land robot on the moon got destroyed when ISRO cancelled the contract as the startup could not able to raise sufficient funds. Therefore, if the idea of Kerala's space park takes in the form of reality and become operational then startups like Team Indus would indeed get lot of help and encouragement to pursue their space technology dreams. Notably, Team Indus was the only Indian entry into Google Lunar X Prize, a global race to reach the moon. Team Indus also had a “rideshare” agreement with Japanese space startup to carry a 4 kg robotic rover on its 600-kg spacecraft.

Besides Team Indus, another more popular spacetech startup from India is Earth2Orbit [E2O], India’s first private space startup, which facilitates satellite launches for various countries, international organizations and companies using Indian launch vehicles such as PSLV of ISRO.

ISRO is indeed a role model for other countries' space agencies in space technology and its applications which have been contributing to the India’s economy apart from the exploration of space and planets. Last year, we reported as how ISRO pose a hidden tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups in India as its geospatial and weather-related data can be explored by the startups for coming up with innovative solutions so much so that startups could make millions using ISRO data.

Now, All Govt Dept. Apps in Kerala To Be Developed Through Startups Only

Acknowledging the mobile internet trend gripping the entire country where everyone nowadays wants an app to make processes easier and faster, the Kerala government has instructed its departments to join the party and utilise the services of startups registered in the state or cleared by its Kerala Start Up Mission (KSUM) for coming up with some easy to navigate but fun mobile apps for all their official projects.

The order issued by the Kerala state government dictates that the government has officially sanctioned direct purchase of mobile applications from startups who have found a mention in the list cleared by KSUM up to a cost of Rs 5 Lakhs. A purchasing officer is not allowed to buy more than two mobile applications in a given financial year from one KSUM registered/cleared startup.

The order allows Kerala state government's departments and agencies the power to right away purchase an already developed mobile application or get one made from scratch or even add a mobile interface to an already developed web app for inter or intra-departmental use or for service delivery.

Since egovernance is being pushed by centre ever since the Modi government came to power, several departments in Kerala state government are already making use of mobile applications to make processes less tedious and faster for the general public.

According to KSUM director Saji Gopinath, with the new order, the state departments can start by identifying if they have a requirement for a mobile app. If they do, the next step can be assessing if there's an app readily available with a startup, and if it is, the department can go for a direct purchase if the product has already been evaluated by the technical committee and listed by KSUM with features, price, service level, support cost etc.

He further added that there's just one condition that startups from which the apps are being purchased or being developed need not be incubated at the KSUM. They have to be registered in the state and meet the parameters mandatory for a startup firm in the state of Kerala. According to Gopinath, a few departments have already started planning apps, some for internal communication and updation and others for external interaction with different user-groups.

Gopinath also shared that if a particular product (mobile app) isn't evaluated by KSUM, the state department can approach KSUM with its proposal for purchase and support. The Kerala Start Up Mission has also been given the responsibility of evaluating things like financials, proposals etc. and recommend startups to state departments according to their requirements.

Kerala’s first Startup Bootcamp set up by Kerala Govt.

In order to promote entrepreneurial culture among the youth of Kerala, the state government has come up with a first-of-its-kind initiative called the Kerala Startup Bootcamp. The initiative was inaugurated on 21^st August, the eve of World Entrepreneurship, at TKM College of Engineering.

The startup Bootcamps will work towards creating a grassroot level student network in order to encourage entrepreneurship and making the students aware about the process of running a successful company. The college will aim to instill positive encouragement among the students through this initiative regarding becoming job creators and innovators rather than the lot seeking jobs and opportunities.  The government wants to give flight to the wings of the people with entrepreneurial skills through this initiative.

Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala addressed the students via a video link at the launch and said, “I am happy that Kerala’s youth are taking up the responsibility of building an entrepreneurial society to create more employment, knowledge and wealth for our people”. He further congratulated the college authorities and students on the successful setting up of the first Bootcamp and even offered government’s full support for its functioning. For 2014, the state government has already earmarked Rs. 4 Crore for the Startup Bootcamp programme.

After the successful launch of the Startup Bootcamp programme, Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar said “The Startup Bootcamps will help students give shape to their dreams and improve industry exposure”. He further added that more such initiatives would be set up in the state’s institutions and engineering colleges in light of the upcoming September 12 Youth Entrepreneurship Summit.

The colleges can set up Entrepreneurship Development Cells (EDC) under this initiative by the Kerala government. These EDC established by the college would function as not for profit societies and will be managed and run entirely by the students, which is similar to functioning of societies at Harvard or Stanford Universities.

Sharing his views on the inauguration, Prof S Parameshwaran, HOD, Department of Mechanical Engineering of the college said “Ethics, values, and the ability to overcome failures are the biggest virtues for student entrepreneurs”. He also encouraged the students to contribute to the growth of the country by taking up entrepreneurship and creating more opportunities and jobs.

Kerala’s first Startup Bootcamp set up by Kerala Govt.

In order to promote entrepreneurial culture among the youth of Kerala, the state government has come up with a first-of-its-kind initiative called the Kerala Startup Bootcamp. The initiative was inaugurated on 21^st August, the eve of World Entrepreneurship, at TKM College of Engineering.

The startup Bootcamps will work towards creating a grassroot level student network in order to encourage entrepreneurship and making the students aware about the process of running a successful company. The college will aim to instill positive encouragement among the students through this initiative regarding becoming job creators and innovators rather than the lot seeking jobs and opportunities.  The government wants to give flight to the wings of the people with entrepreneurial skills through this initiative.

Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala addressed the students via a video link at the launch and said, “I am happy that Kerala’s youth are taking up the responsibility of building an entrepreneurial society to create more employment, knowledge and wealth for our people”. He further congratulated the college authorities and students on the successful setting up of the first Bootcamp and even offered government’s full support for its functioning. For 2014, the state government has already earmarked Rs. 4 Crore for the Startup Bootcamp programme.

After the successful launch of the Startup Bootcamp programme, Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar said “The Startup Bootcamps will help students give shape to their dreams and improve industry exposure”. He further added that more such initiatives would be set up in the state’s institutions and engineering colleges in light of the upcoming September 12 Youth Entrepreneurship Summit.

The colleges can set up Entrepreneurship Development Cells (EDC) under this initiative by the Kerala government. These EDC established by the college would function as not for profit societies and will be managed and run entirely by the students, which is similar to functioning of societies at Harvard or Stanford Universities.

Sharing his views on the inauguration, Prof S Parameshwaran, HOD, Department of Mechanical Engineering of the college said “Ethics, values, and the ability to overcome failures are the biggest virtues for student entrepreneurs”. He also encouraged the students to contribute to the growth of the country by taking up entrepreneurship and creating more opportunities and jobs.