Startup Powerhouses! Looking Back At The Kerala State Mission That Ranked Asia's Best For Promoting Entrepreneurs

With a new year bringing in newer possibilities and opportunities, it becomes important to look back at places that helped the country grow in the past year. One of the factors that have immensely contributed to the economy is the start-up culture. In the past few years, particularly, many promising individuals utilised the schemes and aid extended by the government to start ventures of their own and build a name. These policy changes that states adopted played a huge impact in making spaces start-up-friendly. Among the few states that wrote a success story in 2022 through their start-up mission was Kerala.

Kerala's Startup Ecosystem Fourth Best Globally

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report of 2022 named the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) Asia's best performer for promoting talents. The government mission had successfully funded about 200 start-ups in 2022 out of the identified 900 innovators deserving of encouragement. KSUM played an instrumental role in the entrepreneurship development that the state witnessed. Under the project, they carried out as many as 22 boot camps, eight hackathons, ten summits, research and business demonstrations, among other initiatives. They also provided about 2,500 hours of mentorship to start-ups and organised investor and industry meets for budding entrepreneurs to build their networks.

Talking about the immense growth they observed in the state, KSUM Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika said that 2022 had marked a fruitful year with a "notable rise" in the stature of the start-up ecosystem. Truly so, their efforts were adjudged Asia's best performer and globally the fourth in promoting entrepreneurs. The report released last year carried rankings of the leading 140 ecosystems from around the globe. According to an article by the New Indian Express, they were measured on the basis of talent, experience, long-term trends over the most significant performance factors and the ability to generate and keep talent in the ecosystem.

"Start-up PowerHouse"

During the release of the report, Marc Penzel, Founder and President of Startup Genome, said that it was thrilling to see the incredible growth in Kerala's start-up community coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. With their progressive Government support and tech talent, they were able to hire and retain their talents despite the global economic challenges. The global ranking given last year would immensely help the state step into the new year by building a stronger "network of start-ups that will play a key role in the growth of the State," said KSUM CEO John M Thomas.

KSUM, the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for promoting entrepreneurship, was founded back in 2006. Ever since its installation, it has acted as a launch pad for aspiring entrepreneurs and has helped them grow. Today, KSUM, along with sector-specific partner organisations, boasts of over 2900 registered start-ups, more than ten lakh square feet of incubation space, and above 300 innovation centres across the state of Kerala. Between the years 2019 to 2021, Kerala was able to create a start-up ecosystem valued at ₹1,037.05 crores and bring about a cultural transformation among the youth of Kerala.

Apart from Kerala, the global honours also placed the IT hub Bengaluru at 22nd rank in the global start-up ecosystem index, along with Delhi at 26 and Mumbai at 36. Their positions saw an impressive improvement due to the noticeable shift in their market reach and access to funding.

Also Read: Startup India: Know About Government Initiative That Supports & Funds India's Startup Ecosystem