DOHA:
In an exceptional honour, Kerala Startup Mission has been recognised as the world’s top Public Business Accelerator by UBI Global, the Stockholm-based intelligence company, considerably boosting the profile of KSUM as an institution that powers and nurtures entrepreneurial dreams in Kerala.
The honour for KSUM, the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, was announced at World Incubation Summit for the Best Programmes in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday by UBI Global, known for high-quality intelligence, assessment, and mapping of business incubation.
“Kerala Startup Mission demonstrates exceptional value for client startups, value for the local ecosystem, and overall attractiveness as a programme. Following a rigorous data-driven approach, we assessed and benchmarked incubation programmes across the world,” said Holger Meyer, Director of Research at UBI Global.
This year’s UBI Awards & Recognition Gala event, hosted by Qatar Development Bank at the Museum of Islamic Art, released the top lists of business incubators and accelerators as assessed in the World Benchmark Study 2019 -2020.
Commenting on the award, KSUM CEO Dr. Saji Gopinath said, “I am quite elated. Being adjudged as the world’s No. 1 Public Business Accelerator, and that too by the world’s leading business incubation intelligence company, is an enormous recognition for us. It will further spur us to sustain the momentum in providing a congenial incubation ecosystem in Kerala and tapping into creative energies of the young minds.”
This year, 364 programmes located in 78 countries were selected after assessing and validating the data received from programmes seeking knowledge about them through the study. One of the outcomes of the benchmark study was identifying top incubator and accelerator programmes, which included categories like World Top University Business Incubators, World Top Public Business Incubators, World Top Private Business Incubators, World Top University Business Accelerators, World Top Public Business Accelerators, and World Top Private Business Accelerators.
KSUM, which is responsible for policy framework and implementation of the startup schemes in Kerala, supports startup ecosystem by means of different components such as Infrastructure, Human Capital Development, Funding, Governance, Public-Private Partnership, Global collaborations, Scaling Existing and Establishing New startup ventures from Startup-Boot Up-Scale up model for moving fast from ideas to IPO. It promotes entrepreneurship at different levels — from schools to startups.
Last year, KSUM was awarded Kerala Chief Minister’s award for the best government agency for its Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programmes in the Technology Startup policy.
A report compiled by digital media platform Inc 42 in association with TiE Kerala points out that Kerala has emerged as one of country’s top startup destinations marking an impressive compound annual growth of 17 per cent since 2012, taking the total number of ventures based out of the state to 2,200 and displaying high competence in netting funds worth $89mn till date, In 2019, startups raised $44mn funding spread across 13 deals.
“In 2019, the Indian startup ecosystem recorded 553 funding deals, which together crossed the $9 bn funding mark. Interestingly, it is Kerala which has emerged as one of the top startup destinations of the country,” says the report.
