THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) showcased as many as 18 startups at the 39th annual GITEX Technology Week held in Dubai World Trade Centre from October 6 to 10, displaying the robust ecosystem prevailing in the state and looking for greater expansion and investor connect to the Middle East.
The KSUM pavilion hogged the limelight at the five-day GITEX 2019, largely due to the innovative products and services generated by startups that belong to various emerging technology domains, including Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and Robotics.
Kerala was the only Indian state to put on display startups from diverse technological streams at the GITEX Future Stars venue. Out of the 18 startups, Travelspoc, Embright, Treseres, and Globetec got selected in the semi-finals of Supernova Challenge and Embright made it to the finals. Travelspoc entered the finals of Future Travel competition. Thousands of startups from across the world participated in the competitions.
Visitors, including investors and industry leaders, turned up in large numbers to have a look at the products and ideas being exhibited in the pavilion. The participants got several tangible leads as well as mentorship and investor connect at the expo. As many as 10 startups lapped up opportunities from investors, and 15 startups would connect with business institutions.
Representatives of major industrial organisations and fund managers from around the world visited the KSUM pavilion and held discussions with startup teams. It was also a unique opportunity for the startups to get excellent global exposure and deals, which will help them scale up to the international market.
KSUM and Bahrain Economic development Board (EDB), the Gulf country’s investment promotion agency, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for jointly promoting innovation in FinTech, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and related emerging fields on the sidelines of the event. Kerala was positioned as a corridor for Indian market and lot many startups from across the world came to know the market access programme of KSUM.KSUM is the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
