Kerala Start up mission to provide opportunity to young entrepreneurs

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has tied up with Mahindra & Mahindra group to offer a platform for young and budding entrepreneurs to develop and market their ideas.

Under the initiative Startup Innovation Day to be conducted in collaboration with M&M, startups representing various technologies and sectors all over the country can present their projects to the Mahindra leadership team, a press release said here Wednesday.

The prime objective of the initiative was to identify potential startups that can collaborate with Mahindra Group companies.

The idea was to test the waters first by giving these startups Proof of Concepts (POCs) to execute initially. On successful execution of these POCs, the group companies will engage with them on a larger scale, the release said.

KSUM Chief Executive Officer Dr Saji Gopinath said the collaboration with M&M was "a significant opportunity" for startups to get recognised and mentored by one of the leading companies in the country.

"The expertise of M&M in diverse sectors ranging from agriculture to defense would enable capable startups to develop their ideas and find early market place. In many developed ecosystems, established companies played a pivotal role in creating startup ecosystem," he noted.

KSUM, the apex organisation of the Kerala government for supporting startups, had also recently launched Idea Day to provide fund for innovative projects, ideas and products from college campuses.

Applications, which are open for startups to apply for the respective sectors, will be received till Oct 5.