THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Having firmly positioned Kerala in India’s startup landscape through the iconic beach-side startup festival Huddle Global since 2018, the sixth edition of the event organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will be held at the famed beach destination Kovalam near the state capital from November 28 to 30, 2024.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will open ‘Huddle Global 2024’, throwing up immense opportunities for the state’s robust startup ecosystem to raise funds, scale up business and firm up global connect.
The event will bring together globally-known startup founders, mentors, investors, industry leaders and decision-makers to engage in lively conversations on a whole range of theme and clinch business partnerships.
“Over the years, Huddle Global has made a big impact as the country’s first and foremost beach-side startup festival. Its 2023 edition held at Adimalathura near Kerala capital saw a massive convergence of stakeholders from around the world. There has been a steady increase in footfalls to the event and the ensuing edition will certainly have a larger turnout of stakeholders,” KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika said.
Besides showcasing Kerala’s inspiring startup story, turning the state into a global technology hub, with a vibrant startup ecosystem serving as a source for a wide range of products and services powered by new technologies, is the prime goal of Huddle Global 2024, he said.
The previous editions of Huddle Global had received overwhelming response from the stakeholders. ‘Huddle Global 2024’ will keep this momentum up, promising vast partnership opportunities for the state’s robust startup ecosystem, Anoop added.
The event will promise big opportunities for well-positioned, upcoming and aspiring enterprises in deep technology and diverse other domains that leverage cutting-edge technologies.
It will have extensive deliberations on the trajectory a new startup policy of the state and tapping funds for the ecosystem to grow further.
In tune with its inclusive vision, the conclave will set a platform for digital transformation of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which will help them leverage new technologies, bring down operational costs and expand business.
The three-day meet is expected to clock over 20,000 footfalls, including 8,000-plus startups, 500-plus HNIs, 400-plus mentors, over 250 investors and 200-plus corporate executives.
The event will witness singing of MoUs with startups, announcement of corporate investments, forging business partnerships, networking and mentor speed dating.
A startup expo, where over 250 startups will showcase their products and services, is a major attraction of the event.
More than 200 speakers drawn from around the world will share their perspectives and insights on live themes, throwing light on the global business and technology scenario.
The focal sectors of the conclave are edutech, Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR), fintech, life sciences, space tech, health tech, blockchain, IoT (Internet of Things), e-governance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML).
Apart from super coders challenge, the conclave will be packed with exciting segments like marketing madness, founders’ meet, partner-in-growth, impact 50, pitch-it-right, branding challenge, huddle speed rating, build-it-big, tiger’s claw and sun-down huddle.
The event will also feature master classes by corporates/investors, open pitches with 100 investors, discussions on pan-India collaborations, funding and business announcements, roundtable discussions, investor meetups, mentor meetings, and corporate challenges.
KSUM, the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, has been organising ‘Huddle Kerala’ since 2018.
