KOCHI:
Investments to the tune of Rs 70 crore into startups from various sectors were announced at the fifth edition of the two-day ‘Seeding Kerala’ investment summit, being organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), here.
The startups that lapped up the funds include Sporthood, Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt. Ltd., Bumberry, ilove9months, Entri and ZappyHire. The investments announcement was made on the concluding day of the summit in the presence of M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary (Electronics and IT), Govt. of Kerala, and Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM, on Saturday.
Bengaluru-based Sporthood, a startup for sports enthusiasts, has got investment from SEA Fund, which made its fourth investment in Kerala out of its seven investment ventures.
Founded by Rahul Antony Thomas, Arun V. Nair, Nikhilesh M.R. and Vikram Devare, Sporthood has a community of 30,000 kids and adults subscribed to the platform. It has 21 established sports clubs across Bengaluru and Kochi. Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt. Ltd. has got investment from matrimony.com, one of the largest matrimonial companies in India. It’s the first investment by the Chennai-based firm.
Astro Vision has been providing Vedic-based astrology solutions to its consumers in more than 10 Indian languages, for over three decades. Within the short span, Astro Vision has generated more than 110 million horoscopes.
Bumberry, a startup that manufactures eco-friendly and re-usable cloth diapers, has raised fund from Kerala Angel Network (KAN), led by a group of investors. It is KAN’s maiden investment in a startup. Bumberry was founded by Kutty Krishnan, an educator by profession. Bumberry diapers come as natural bamboo cotton pad and pocket diapers.
US-based Equifin VC will be investing in Maternia Care Technologies Pvt Ltd., which owns the brand ilove9months, a women-led maternity-focused startup. It is also the maiden investment venture in India by the US firm.
Another startup Entri, a learning app in local languages that has over 1.6 million users, is funded by Good Capital. Founded by Mohammed Hisamuddin, Entri first started by providing a database of questions for government recruitment examinations in Malayalam.
Smart Sparks Angel Network will invest in ZappyHire, which gives companies the flexibility on what tools they would like to use, based on their hiring requirements such as assessment and candidate profiling.
On the occasion, officials of Pavizham Oil and Rice handed over its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of Rs 9,40,000 to startup Red Button as part of Red Button public safety programme. The project, which will be implemented in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur initially, is about installing a robotic system in public areas to ensure public safety, especially for women, and also bridge the gap between the police and public.
Moreover, Kochi-based startup Watasalere paid the seed fund of Rs 6 lakh to the Kerala government as a goodwill gesture. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
