Startup Yatra: Nearly 80 Ideas to vie for Honours at Grand Finale

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Around 80 ideas from as many as 200 participants will compete for honours at the grand finale of the ‘Startup Yatra’ here on November 27, marking the conclusion of the statewide road-show launched by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) to nurture aspiring entrepreneurs in Kerala’s tier 2 and 3 cities.

The valedictory event will be held at 3pm at Park Centre, Technopark. The acceleration and mentorship programme for the contestants will be conducted on November 26.

The 1000-km long campaign was conducted in collaboration with Startup India, the Central Government’s flagship initiative to empower startups through innovation and design and support budding entrepreneurs to realize their startup dreams.

Flagged off by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his official residence Cliff House on November 1, the yatra had gone all the way to upnorth Kasargod, covering multiple educational institutions on its way. More than 14 van stops and eight boot camps were conducted in different districts, drawing a large number of enthusiastic youngsters to the event.

The final boot camp was held at LBS College, Kasargod, on November 23, where more than 250 participants attended. Around 10 ideas had been shortlisted for the grand finale from the 30 pitched ideas at the boot camp.

According to Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM, “The primary objective of the yatra was to identify promising entrepreneurs from the state’s smaller cities, offer them support in terms of incubation and mentorship from renowned institutions and help them tide over the lack of resources”. The Grand finale winners will get prizes totalling Rs 10 lakh.