Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Thursday announced a major shift in the state’s startup strategy, from quantity to quality, with a focus on building globally successful enterprises.
“From underwater robotics and semiconductor design to artificial intelligence, biotechnology and maritime innovation, Keralam has the talent to build technologies for the world.
Our message to every young entrepreneur is simple: You don’t have to leave Keralam to build something the world needs,” Satheesan said in his post.
It aims to empower young innovators through Gozip, its flagship GenZ Innovation programme, with district-level innovation clusters and builder residencies, he added. He said the state’s startup ecosystem had grown to more than 9,200 startups, generating over 76,000 jobs, building on the Technology Startup Policy introduced in 2014 under former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Our ambition is to nurture more than 100 startups with annual revenues exceeding ₹ 100 crore,” he said. Outlining the government’s priorities, Satheesan said it would establish 10 world-class, research-driven incubators through the Translational Research and Innovation Centre-Kerala , an academic-industry incubator hosted at the University of Kerala.
The government also plans to strengthen startup funding, innovation grants, research and development support and seed financing, besides developing new debt-financing instruments through the Kerala Financial Corporation , Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and banking partners, he said. He said the foundation laid by the Oommen Chandy government had evolved into a thriving startup ecosystem, and the next goal was to build globally competitive enterprises, nurture high-revenue startups and create greater opportunities for young innovators through advanced research and incubation facilities. “Today, we are announcing a major shift in our startup strategy: from quantity to quality, from creating startups to building globally successful enterprises.
