Karnataka minister rolls out 3 strategic initiatives to promote start-ups

Karnataka Higher Education and IT/BT Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Saturday rolled out three strategic initiatives aimed at promoting start-ups and innovation ecosystem in Beyond Bengaluru clusters.

The three programmes launched were Mysuru Cluster Seed Fund (MCSF), Mysuru Global Technology Centre (MGTC) and Karnataka Accelerator Network (KAN).

It may be noted here that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai while presenting the budget 2023-24 had announced these programmes to boost the IT & startup ecosystem in the state. Put together, it is estimated that MCSF and KAN will generate around ₹200 crore and these programmes will be implemented through Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)

Mysuru Cluster with a Seed Fund of ₹25 crores will be funding 70-80 startups which are expected to create over 1000 employment opportunities.

“Mysuru Global Technology Centre which will be set up in a space of 2 lakh sqft with 3000 seater capacity facilitates high-quality plug-and-play office infrastructure in Mysuru. It is said that it would play a major role in boosting the growth of IT, ITES, GCC, ESDM, startups & all services companies in the region,” the government said in a statement.

“Karnataka Accelerator Network (KAN) is a unique initiative of the Government of Karnataka claimed as the first of its kind in the country to boost the accelerator ecosystem in the state. It has set a goal to support over 300 startups. The stakeholders who will be partnering in the initiative would be (not for profit) three accelerators across Bengaluru and 3 potential accelerators from Beyond Bengaluru i.e Mysuru, Mangalore and Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi clusters. It enables the creation of a mentor-mentee network between accelerators and incubators in Bengaluru and Beyond Bengaluru regions,” it added.

On the occasion, the coffee table book brought out commemorating the silver jubilee event of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) was launched.

Narayan also announced that the 26th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS-2023) will be held from November 29 to December 1 at Palace Grounds.

Dr BV Naidu, chairperson, KDEM, Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, KDEM, and Dr EV Ramana Reddy, ACS, Department of IT/BT were also present on the occasion.