Startup Yatra: Ideas Galore at Fifth Boot Camp

THRISSUR:
Around 10 innovative ideas among over 49 pitched ideas at the fifth boot camp held at Sahrdaya College of Engineering and Technology here on Saturday, as part of the ongoing Startup Yatra of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) to nurture aspiring entrepreneurs in Kerala’s tier 2 and 3 cities, have been selected for the grand finale of the boot camp.

More than 100 participants attended the boot camp. There was a van stop on Saturday at TiEcon Kochi as part of the TiEcon 2018 Summit. The next boot camp will be held at NIT, Kozhikode on November 20. There will be a vanstop at IIM Kozhikode on November 20.

As part of the Yatra, eight boot camps and 14 van stops have been planned across the state’s 14 districts. The boot camps, to be held at colleges and universities, will conduct ideation workshops and idea-pitching sessions for students.

Aspiring entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas to a panel and the winners will get an opportunity to participate in a two-day acceleration programme with a leading incubator. At the end of the programme, the shortlisted candidates will be able to pitch for offers by incubators as well as incentives by the state government.

The Yatra will conclude in a grand finale at the Park Center, Thiruvananthapuram, on November 26-27. The winners will get prizes totalling Rs 10 lakh besides incubation support.

KSUM has organized the ‘Startup Yatra’ in collaboration with Startup India, the Central Government’s flagship initiative to empower startups through innovation and design. The primary objective of the march is to identify promising entrepreneurs from the state’s smaller cities, offer them support in terms of incubation and mentorship from renowned institutions and also help them tide over the lack of resources.