TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Amaravati Chapter and Andhra Angels have been launched in Vijayawada and they are expected to boost the growth of start-up ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh.
State Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh formally launched TiE Chapter and Andhra Angels in the presence of entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors and investors.
Representatives from top educational institutions like IIT Tirupati and other institutions, start-ups in Andhra Pradesh were also present at the event. Representatives from corporates like PWC, Mckinsey, NASSCOM, EDB, E&Y and from VCs like Parampara, 50K and Anthill were also there.
Initially, TiE Amaravati will enroll about 30 to 35 Charter Members including several hundred associate and student members in the first operational year and hopes to grow its strength gradually.
"Entrepreneurship is a way forward and there should be an entrepreneur from every family in the state both tech and non tech area," said Lokesh.
"To build a strong startups eco system in the new state besides the local entrepreneursAwe need to attract the best minds from across the globe," said J.A. Chowdary, Special Chief Secretary and IT Advisor to CM, Andhra Pradesh.
Sateesh Andra, President TiE Amaravati, said that as per the 2017 edition of the NASSCOM-Zinnov report, India ranks third among global start-up ecosystems with more than 5000 start-ups and over 1,000 new additions in 2017.
"With the active support of the government and industry, TiE Chapter in the State of Andhra Pradesh will play a crucial role in focusing on creating and nurturing our next generation of entrepreneurs.
"Our immediate focus will be Fintech, IT/ITES, Pharma/Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Agriculture & Food Processing Sectors. TiE Amaravati will also work closely with educational institutions to introduce entrepreneurship based courses in the curriculum, assist in setting up E-cells and incubators to inculcate the entrepreneurial aspirations in young minds," he added.
Andhra Pradesh has been looking to boost its startup ecosystem, especially in the light of Telangana’s ecosystem growing rapidly with several incubators such as T-Hub, IIIT-H’s CIE and various other incubators coming up in the city of Hyderabad under the leadership of its IT Minister KT Rama Rao.
Apart from Amaravati, Vishakhapatnam is also slowly growing its startup ecosystem by building a network of accelerators, incubator, mentors and co-working spaces. While TiE Amaravati chapter will bolster innovation and entrepreneurship in the state, Vizag is also emerging as one of the startup destinations for the state of Andhra Pradesh.