KOCHI:
Venture Catalysts, Asia’s largest and leading integrated incubator, recently initiated its operations in Kerala to help strengthen the start-up ecosystem in one of India’s most progressive states.
The initiation began with a Pitch Day event, held at Kochi. About 125-150 HNIs from the state attended the event, interacting with prospective entrepreneurs and start-up teams emerging from Kerala.Venture Catalysts will also establish an incubation center in the state, dedicated to launch local start-ups towards a successful journey.
Venture Catalysts is India’s biggest start-up incubator, having already invested more than USD 80 million across 70+ start-ups. It has many promising start-ups listed on its portfolio, including brands such as Beardo, Homecapital, VPhraseand many more. The event in Kerala witnessed the presence of teams from emerging start-ups such as CubmcPaws, Pariksha and In storied.
CubmcPaws is a one-of-its-kind kids’ dedicated retail platform driven by technology, aimed at identifying the potential of kids at influencing purchase decisions. Pariksha is a test-preparation platform aimed at empowering students from rural regions ace government examinations. Instoried is a deep-tech start-up that helps individuals and organizations improve their written communication with the help of NLP and machine learning.
Commenting on the event and VCats’ entry in Kerala, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Founder, Venture Catalysts said, “Kerala is one of India’s most progressive, educated and development focused state with a lot of talent across all domains. Naturally, we wanted to evaluate and empower the start-up ecosystem present in the state, which has already produced some high-potential start- ups. Our aim is to reach out to high-profile investors and stakeholders in the state who can help us identify promising local start-ups and empower them through resource allocation, funding and extending other opportunities. Over the next few months, we aim to aggressively expand our network across tier-I and II cities of the state, such as Trivandrum, Calicut, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kollam, Allepey etc. We hope to find and support capable start-ups from Kerala and facilitate their journey towards great business success.”
Expressing his views on the importance of such an initiative for local start-ups, Bhanuprakash V Pai, Managing Partner, Mayyazhi Petroleum & Vice President – Lions Club Kochi and also Managing Partner VCats, Kerala, said, “The arrival of a globally renowned incubator and investor network such as Venture Catalysts gives local businesses a platform the likes of which they had never imagined before. There is tremendous potential in the state undoubtedly, across various diverse industries, such as tourism, healthcare, alternative healing, science and technology, renewable energy etc. Quality ideas and the desire to perform in also present, and the scenario just needed an all equipped catalyst for the businesses to grow out of the limited confines of the ready market and become national, and probably internationally renowned brands.”
Venture Catalysts has built an unparalleled start-up ecosystem in the country, enabling start-ups across geographies and industries to realize their vision in a seamless manner. It has acted as a bridge between start-ups and investors, effectively building a unique start-up dedicated framework that has significantly helped many entrepreneurs to acquire funding and investors bag multi- million exits. Most importantly, VCats has built a culture that lets innovation grow, which is their exact vision behind fostering the start-up efforts in Kerala.
