Rural India Business Conclave in Kasaragod on Dec 14, 15

KASARAGOD:
Top industry leaders and start-up founders in the agricultural sector will converge at a Rural India Business Conclave this weekend, as the third edition of the biennial event will be held in the city on December 14 and 15.

Themed ‘How to Leverage Technology for Growth in Rural India’, the two-day event being jointly organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Central Plantations Crop Research Institute (CPCRI) and Central University of Kerala will feature sessions on technology growth and its prospects in the agri-food sector besides panel discussions. The subjects will focus on the potential of rural India and commercial potential technologies developed by research institutes under central and state governments, including the Central Horticultural Research Centre.

The speakers include Kasaragod District Collector K. Inbasekar, KSUM Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika, K-DISC Executive Director Riyas P.M., Central University of Kerala Vice-Chancellor Vincent Mathew, Indian Council of Agricultural Research ADG Neeru Bhushan, ICAR-CPCRI Director K. Balachandra Hebbar, directors of various ICAR institutes, Fresh-to-Home founder Mathew Joseph and founders of a range of start-ups. The conclave will also see the participation of prominent social start-up investors, including Nagaraja Prakasam, Suresh K Krishna and Hari Krishnan.

The event at CPCRI will also host programmes such as introduction of techniques, besides a rural agritech hackathon with 20 teams participating out of the 160 who applied from different parts of the country. Around 100 students will participate in the20 teams representing various campuses and universities across the country.

The hackathon, which will be held at the Central University campus, aims to develop the technology solutions for the agricultural sector and nurture the tourism potential of rural India. Those needing technical assistance will be guided by experts.

Cash rewards will be given to individuals or teams proposing the best solutions and successfully developing prototypes. Those selected will get admission in either KSUM or the CPCRI Incubator. The ones who propose solutions in the agriculture and food-production sectors will get opportunity to further research and commercialize the product in collaboration with CPCRI. The conference will also hold a Women Entrepreneurship Development Program and a Venture Capital Bootcamp for Socially Responsible Startups, besides special mentorship sessions for startup founders.

The first two editions were notable for their participation of economists, start-up founders and industry leaders from across India. KSUM is a 2006-established nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities.