Hardly a month into its launch, the Integrated Startup Complex (ISC), also comprising electronics incubator Maker Village at the Kerala Technology Innovation Zone (KTIZ) at Kalamassery, is already in expansion mode with three centres of excellence being set up at the facility.

The complex, powered by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and spread over a sprawling campus of 13.50 acres with a built-up space of 1.80 lakh sq ft, is one of the biggest exclusive start-up ecosystems anywhere in the country. It was launched on January 13.

“The centres of excellence on new-age technologies of telecommunications, engineering design and simulation and augmented and virtual reality have already been launched at the Integrated Startup Complex. Besides, an international accelerator for hardware start-ups may also turn a reality in a couple of months,” Prasad Balakrishnan Nair, CEO, Maker Village, told The Hindu.

Global markets

The proposed accelerator with the right kind of international experience and expertise is aimed at making hardware products meet international standards and reach global markets, he said.

“There is no point in targeting and making products for the domestic market alone, but the aim should be to make globally competitive products and ensure that they reach those markets,” Mr. Nair said. The international accelerator will perfectly complement the offerings of the Maker Village and enable hardware startups to scale up and further move up the value chain.

Along with the launch of the ISC, the scaled-up facilities of the Maker Village offering end-to-end state-of-the-art support infrastructure for hardware start-ups to traverse from ideas to market-ready products was also launched.

Maker Village, arguably the largest electronic hardware incubator in the country, is now on its way to becoming a National Centre of Excellence for hardware start-ups and an Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) hub supporting SMEs and MSMEs in the sector.

ISC houses over a hundred start-ups, including 68 core hardware start-ups supported by the Maker Village and 35 start-ups focusing on software and related service. “The complex is spacious enough to accommodate more than double the number of the existing 100-odd startups. The facility is not restricted to startups alone but is open to technology firms and industry support services as well” said Mr. Nair.