NASSCOM Innaugrates START-UP Warehouse in Kochi

To further accelerate its effort to reach out to maximum number of entrepreneurs, The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) inaugurated the start-up warehouse in Kochi in presence ofShri. P.K. Kunhalikutty, Minister for Industries and IT, Government of Kerala and Shri. P. H. Kurien, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Information Technology.

The start-up warehouse has been launched in support with the Kerala Govt. to build entrepreneurial capabilities in the state of Kerala, create a vibrant community to connect investors, mentors and start-up entrepreneurs, and building tech-entrepreneurship as a preferred career option. The warehouse will be managed by NASSCOM’s 10,000 Start-ups program. The steering committee of Start-up Warehouse, Kochi includes Dr. Jayasankar Prasad, CEO, Kerala Start-up Mission, Mr. Hrishikesh Nair, CEO, Infopark, Mr. Mukund Krishna, CEO, Suyati Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Sunil Balakrishnan, Global Head for Development Center Operations, UST Global and Mr. Ashok Madaravally, Deputy Director, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups. We’ve 6 startups shortlisted who will be operating out from today onwards, they are CIED, Agrima Infotech, Janta Solutions, GeoSpice Location Intelligence, Quadproso, and Rabitech.

At this occasion, Shri. Oommen Chandy, Honourable Chief Minister, Government of Kerala, said, “Exactly 3 years from today, Kerala state announced the student entrepreneurship policy when more than 300 student startups came into force. The State Govt. will extend all support for the 3^rd NASSCOM Start-up Warehouse at Infopark, Kochi, to ensure this collaboration gets more tech entrepreneurs in the fore front.”

Mr. R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM said, “The necessity to develop increasingly refined skills is driving the evolution of culture. By efficiently channelling technological and creative skills of the youth to solve existing problems, the state aspires to foster an entrepreneurial culture, which contributes to increased knowledge, employment and societal wealth. Through this strategic partnership with the Government of Kerala, NASSCOM aims to help build an entrepreneurial eco-system in Kerala  which leverages technology to bridge gaps between different strata of the society”.

Mr. Rajat Tandon, Vice President, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups added, “Start-ups are a critical pillar for the sustainability of the IT   Industry, as they are fuelling innovation, ensuring job creations and  enabling sustained revenue generation. India is emerging as the nerve center for the global start-up movement and Kerala pioneers initiatives that complement this growth. This is a milestone for us at NASSCOM as Kerala joins the league of 10,000 Start-up’s revolution.”

Mr. Ravi Gururaj, Chair, NASSCOM Product Council said, “Kerala is one of the front runner innovative cities and poised to grow faster in the near future with a very entrepreneur friendly IT Policy.  Kochi is also home to many engineering colleges and innumerable technical institutes.  Some of India’s best institutes are in the State. Hence, Kochi is natural choice like Bangalore, Kolkata and Gurgaon to have exactly similar start-up warehouses with support of the respective state governments. This centre will provide early stage start-ups with highly affordable co-working space conveniently located in the center of the city, thereby establishing Kochi as one of the emerging destinations of global businesses and start-ups”.

In 2013, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups launched its first start-up warehouse in Bangalore followed by its second warehouse in Kolkata. It further announced Start-up warehouse in Navi Mumbai & Pune in support with Govt. of Maharashtra and recently in Gurgaon in support with Govt. of Haryana. Since inception of Start-up Warehouses, 76 start-ups have got incubated so far both from Bangalore and Kolkata, from which 20 per cent start-ups got funded and 10 per cent got acquired.

The 10,000 Start-ups program has initiated start-up warehouses across different states to create a micro-ecosystem where many start-ups and entrepreneurs can work together and share their experiences with each other.  The environment will result in a collaborative approach and a rub-off effect of working alongside with people who share a passion towards solving some of the problems faced by society, consumers, businesses etc. The key philosophy behind the initiative is to provide start-ups with- affordable and accessible space, Plug and play services, co-working space, mentor support, workshops and start-up events. NASSCOM’s 10,000 Start-ups Program is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs, Microsoft Ventures, Kotak, IBM, and AWS.