Rs. 25 crore fund to promote innovations ecosystem, drive State’s digital economy

Bengaluru: Three critical initiatives for the growth of start-ups — Rs. 25 crore Mysuru Cluster Seed Fund to promote start-ups and innovations’ ecosystem, 2 lakh sq. ft. or 3,000-seater high-quality plug-and-play office infrastructure in Mysuru and Karnataka Accelerator Network — were launched by Minister for Higher Education, IT and BT Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan virtually from Bengaluru yesterday.

The initiatives have been launched by the Department of Electronics, IT/BT and Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka. According to the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), these three critical initiatives have been taken to address the challenges involved in the start-up journey and augmentation across various sectors that are critical to the growth of start-ups.

The Mysuru Cluster Seed Fund is the first of its kind in India where more than 70 start-ups will be funded, creating employment opportunities for more than 1,000 persons per year in a cluster.

Easier access to capital

According to a note from the KDEM, the Government will facilitate easier access to capital for selected start-ups in the clusters. This is a great opportunity for budding entrepreneurs which will create new growth centres, and employment generation and drive the digital economy for the State. The fund will be managed by the Investment Committee (IC) comprising of industry and professionals.

The Mysuru Global Technology Centre (MGTC) is a high-quality plug-and-play office infrastructure that will drive cost savings, boost productivity, attract talent, and foster global collaboration and business growth.

This is a significant step towards boosting the growth of IT, ITES, GCC, ESDM, start-ups and all services companies in the region. The availability of world-class office infrastructure is a critical factor that determines the success of any industry, especially in the technology sector. This will help get more investments and employment opportunities into the cluster.

The MGTC will function from the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) building at Mandakalli near the Mysore Airport that was till now under the possession of Karnataka State Open University. The building has now been handed over to Karnataka Digital Economy Mission.

Addressing challenges in start-up journey

Another initiative of the Government of Karnataka and a first of its kind in the country to boost the accelerator ecosystem in the State is the Karnataka Accelerator Network (KAN) where more than 301 start-ups will be supported for the acceleration programme. This will address the challenges involved in the start-up journey and augmentation across various sectors that are critical to the start-up’s growth. The stakeholders who will be partnering in the initiative would be (not for profit) three accelerators across Bangalore and 3 potential accelerators from Beyond Bengaluru — Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi clusters.

The principal objective is to boost the start-up ecosystem, especially for growth-stage start-ups, and create a mentor-mentee network between accelerators and incubators in Bangalore and Beyond Bengaluru regions to share best practices for nurturing startups.

Take advantage of Namma Mysuru, says Minister Dr. Ashwathnarayan

Launching the initiatives virtually from Bengaluru, Minister for Higher Education, IT and BT, Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan said, “The three critical initiatives — availability of world-class office infrastructure, access to easier capital and business accelerator support — will determine the success of any industry and cluster. We are creating a web of support ecosystems. The three initiatives will drive over 1,000 new jobs in the State. We want start-ups and global companies to take this advantage in Namma Mysuru.”

 KDEM Chairman B.V. Naidu said, “The principal objective of launching these three strategic initiatives is to catalyse the State’s potential in the field of technology. Bringing out the power of start-ups from emerging tech clusters, creating an equal playing platform with global access to business. This also puts Mysuru on the global digital map which is important for the nation as a whole.”

 On the Karnataka Accelerator Network (KAN), Additional Chief Secretary, Dept of Electronics, IT, BT S&T Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy said that to address the challenges involved in start-up journey and augmentation across various sectors, KAN will support and nurture 306 start-ups over a period of 3 years that are developing products, services, solutions around and are in the growth phase.