Huddle Global 2024: Foreign Delegates Woo Kerala IT Firms

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Foreign envoys attending the three-day Huddle Global 2024, organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), made their pitch to grab attention of IT companies in Kerala and representatives from Switzerland, Finland and Chile said their countries can offer many collaborative opportunities for Indian IT companies and startups in Kerala can take advantage of this.

Speaking on the inaugural day at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, envoy from Switzerland Jonas Brunschwig said his country has developed a strong presence in the deep technology sector. “So the startups from my country are not well known as some others but they play a significant role,” he said, adding that this is the third edition of the Huddle he is attending, underlining the importance his country is giving to Kerala.

He said even though both India and Switzerland have a robust startup ecosystem, in his country almost every startup has been churned out from the universities where as in India it is a very small percentage.

Finland Ambassador Erik af Hallstrom said though his country’s climate is predominantly cold, the startup ecosystem had been warmly embracing outside firms that brought in innovations. As a part of the European Union, Finland can also open the doors to Europe and Finnish firms also looking to establish ties with IT firms in India to jointly tackle the global market, he said.

Jorge Loyola Castro, the Chilean trade commissioner in India, said was glad to discover the interest in football and tourism that Kerala shares with Kerala and said IT can open another area of cooperation. He said Chile had been traditionally a mining power, but from 2010 the country had started to develop its IT sector.

By 2024, it had welcomed a sizeable section of Indian IT firms have established base there as it gives access to the markets in Latin America and beyond, said Castro.