KOCHI:
The output of Kerala’s hardware incubator Maker Village is “amazing” as its products are designed with an eye for customer need, said Robert Burgess, American Consul General (Chennai).
On a visit t to Maker Village here with Principal Commercial Officer James Fluker on Friday, Burgess noted that the greatest threat faced by the start-ups often is the similarity of applications, but a variety of products and applications developed in Maker Village stood in sharp contrast.
“Maker Village is developing products like robots and even practical health care products which include equipment for pregnant women. Some of the products which have been developed here had entered the market on an experimental basis”, Burgess said.
He lauded the efforts of the young entrepreneurs in finding out new ideas and technologies for developing products, and informed them of the support the start-ups could expect from the US agencies. He visited around 20 startups at Maker Village, which has developed such outstanding products as Underwater Drone, Robot, Health Monitor, Smart Cycle, Neera Maker and 3D Costume Designing.
After seeing the products, he said the US will be able to provide guidelines for the startups to bring out products which are useful to the society. He said that the entrepreneurs are given support and investment by US through Global Entrepreneurship Meet and also through the American Centre at New Delhi.
The Consul General and his colleague also interacted with selected startups from Maker Village.
Fluker suggested that startups should hold discussions with Indian industry forums like CII and FICCI for certification process.
Prasad Balakrishnan Nair, CEO, Maker Village, said the US Consulate in Chennai has been very proactive in supporting Maker Village and the start up eco system over here. He recalled that the national level blockathon conducted last year in association with US Consulate was a huge success.
“We are sure that this visit by the US Consul General will give new dimension to the existing association with US Consulate. Through this relationship we want to unlock huge opportunities existing for the hardware start ups,” he added.
