The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), a state government body for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities, has been recognised as the top business accelerator in the world.
Stockholm based intelligence company UBI Global, awarded KSUM at the World Incubation Summit for Best Programs in Doha, Qatar.
According to UBI Global director Holger Meyer, KSUM shows exceptional value for client startups, for the ecosystem and overall attractiveness as a programme. KSUM was selected after assessing incubation programmes across the world through a ‘rigorous data driven approach’.
According to reports, KSUM CEO Saji Gopinath said that the recognition will further motivate KSUM to ‘sustain the momentum in providing a congenial incubation ecosystem in Kerala and tapping into creative energies for the young minds.’
A total of 364 programmes from 78 countries were selected after assessing the data received from programmes seeking knowledge about them. The programme aimed to identify top incubator and accelerator programmes under categories such as World Top University Business Incubators, World Top Public Business Incubators and World Top Private Business Incubators.
KSUM supports a thriving startup ecosystem in different components such as infrastructure, human capital development, funding, governance, PPP and global collaborations.
In January this year, the state government had given its approval to the state’s departments and autonomous institutions to invite IT startups for their requirements costing up to Rs 1 crore in the state.
As a result, several state-owned/state-run institutions could invite startups to come and set up their projects/operations in Kerala, and bid for the tenders where the cost of such orders will be between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore.
Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM, had then stated that this move by the state government would be a big boost to the startup ecosystem in the state and that he expected a number of startups to move to Kerala.