Off to a great start(UP)

KOCHI: The States’ Startup Ranking 2019 published by Central government has ranked Kerala as a best performer, alongside Karnataka, home to India’s Silicon Valley— Bengaluru. While plenty of work lays ahead for the start-up pioneers, TNIE takes a look at what could push the state further up on the innovation ladder

Earlier this month, the Central government came out with Ease of Doing Business ranking of states, where Kerala slipped to 28th rank from 21st. Yet another report on the best startup ecosystem in the country, the States Startup Ranking 2019, saw Kerala ranked alongside Karnataka as the top performer in the category! This might come across as an irony. While one list says Kerala is among the worst hosts for business, the other claims it has one of the most nurturing ecosystems for promoting entrepreneurship via startups. Kerala being ranked alongside Karnataka and Bengaluru, regarded as India’s Silicon Valley, for the second year in a row is the icing on the cake.

How is it possible for one of the worst business environments in the country to have the best ecosystems for startup ventures?
Experts say the reason is simple. While it can be difficult to eliminate the age-old reputation the state has for crumbling traditional businesses like manufacturing with its militant labour unions, environment activists and difficult bureaucracy, encouraging entrepreneurship can be established only by handholding startups with innovative ideas.

It is no surprise that startups from Kerala have won laurels for innovation recently. Last month, Cherthala-based Techgentsia Software Technologies Pvt Ltd’s product Vconsol, an indigenous video conferencing solution, was declared the winner of the Central government’s ‘Innovation Challenge for Development of Video Conferencing Solution’. Similarly, in July, The Aditya, India’s first solar-powered ferry boat by Kerala startup NavAlt Solar, received a global honour – the Gustave Trouve Award, the world’s only international awards exclusively for electric boats.

Saji Gopinath deserves most of the credit. Saji’s team has been spearheading the process since he took over as the CEO of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in 2017. Alongside Ashok Kurian Panjikaran, head, business development of KSUM, Saji was named ‘Startup Champions of the State’. “The number of startups is doubling every year and Kerala startups today account for around 10 per cent of DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade)-registered startups in India. Many of them have been recognised globally for their unique products and have established businesses even outside India,” he says. According to him, some of Kerala’s incubators like Bionest and Maker Village placed themselves as industry leaders by winning national honours both for incubation as well as for the companies they helped make.

 It’s reckoned Kerala has a total of 2,900 startups that collectively sourced an external funding of `1,500 crore since 2016, a figure that is seemingly low. But, not everything is hunky-dory for startups in Kerala, reckons Robin Alex Panicker, chief product officer of Finotes, who is also a keen observer of the startup sector in the state. “A lot of issues hinder the startup ecosystem in the state. It is easier to set up a chicken farm than a startup,” he quips. So why is it important to promote startups over chicken farms? “Startups, especially those based on technology, play a very significant role in the economical and commercial future of the state,” Panicker says.

These technology startups play a major role in human resources, education, data connectivity and electricity. Kerala has a favourable environment for all these four sectors. When compared to other startups, these are more compact,” he says. However, according to Panicker, the startup ecosystem has come a long way in terms of funding. “Today it is possible to sell software products all over the world while sitting in Kerala. Also, compared to other states, we can make world-class software with very little investment here,” he says.

Shifting base?
It is normal for startups from Kerala to want to relocate to Tier one and two cities like Bengaluru or Mumbai once it grows in size. This may be because it is easier to get funding and customers in big cities where most of the angel investors, venture capital funds and private equity investors are based.Panicker says, though some Kerala startups have expanded or relocated to the big metros, the trend is reversing now. “With many Malayalis coming back and investing in startups, this trend is visible even in major incubation hubs like Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Even in smaller towns, it is no different. For example, Techgensia, the Alappuzha-based tech-startup.”

Ground-level upliftment is key
Still, Kerala has a long way to go, he reckons. Red-tapism and the attitude of the officials right from the panchayat to the bureaucratic level may need some correction. S R Nair, startup mentor, points out that some of the biggest startups in the country, like Byju’s founded by Byju Raveendran (valued at $5.4 billion or `38,500 crore), ID Fresh Food (P C Mustafa) and Big Basket (Hari Nair), did not germinate in Kerala. “All three are Malayalis, but they set shop outside Kerala,” he said.  

With all due credit to the founders, this makes us wonder why a great number of startups in Kerala still do not attract the funding from angel investors and VCs. “Kerala startups must get into the radar of big investors, which it hasn’t until now,” says Nair. “For example, I know two fintech startups in Kochi with excellent business propositions. Had they been in Mumbai or Bengaluru, they would have been up there by now. In spite of the great value they deliver, they still await  scale-up funds,” he says.

According to Nair, it is not always the business model that helps them with this. Instead, networking, good mentors and a positive PR are crucial to the success of a startup. “Also, startup founders hold a false pride which makes them possessive and unwilling to share. The result? They stay in cocoons, for ever,” he says.

Infrastructure available
 Network of 22 Fab Labs across Kerala
High-precision machining
 R&D projects and training
 Access to cutting-edge gadgets, tools, software and GPU
Training and mentoring programmes from industry experts

PROMISING  STARTUPS FROM kERALA

GenRobotics 
Innovations Pvt Ltd 
Founders: Vimal Govind, Arun George, Nikhil N P and Rashid K 
Founded: 2015 
Based: Technopark Campus, 
Thiruvananthapuram
In India and other developing countries, manholes and sewage lines are cleaned by men directly entering it and Bandicoot is the world’s first manhole cleaning robot developed by it. 

Agrima Infotech Pvt Ltd
Founders: Anoop Balakrishnan, Arun Ravi, Nikhil Dharman 
Founded: 2011 
Based: Kochi
Cooking made easy with hundreds of recipes available on a smart platform built with artificial intelligence. RecipeBook app built with artificial intelligence, opens up a whole new world of cooking to be explored by chefs, homemakers and beginners alike. 

NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats Pvt Ltd
Founder: Sandith Thandasherry 
Founded: 2013 
Based: Kochi 
NavAlt is engaged in the design and manufacturing of efficient solar electric boats. ‘Aditya,’ India’s first solar ferry, is its flagship product which is of 75 PAX capacity. 

Farmers Fresh Zone 
Founder: Pradeep P S 
Founded: 2015 
Based: Kochi 
Farmers Fresh Zone is an agritech social startup based in Kochi. Started in 2015 with the aim to support and uplift the rural farming community, the model connects rural farmers with urban consumers. 

VST Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd
Founder: Alvin George 
Founded: 2015 
Based: Kochi 
It is an innovative global supplier for IoT-based mobility solutions. It has an end-to-end platform on telematics which includes software and hardware products for the intelligent transportation system.

Inker Robotics Solutions Pvt Ltd 
Founder: Rahul P Balachandran 
Founded: 2018 
Based: Thrissur 
Humanoid robot used for education purpose, Gait Trainer Exo-skeleton used for training cerebral palsy patients to walk, robot for fire fighting, drones for agricultural purposes,.

Sastra Robotics India Pvt Ltd 
Founders: Aronin P, Achu Wilson and Akhil A 
Founded: 2017 
Based: Kochi 
Its product is an intelligent robotic platform which can be trained to mimic human hand actions and reactions.

 Entri 
Founders: Mohammed Hisamuddin, Rahul Ramesh
Founded: 2017 
Based: Thiruvananthapuram 
Entri is India’s top vernacular learning app to secure a job. Up-skilling courses like spoken English. It recently signed Robin Uthappa as its brand ambassador and a deal with Hotstar for the IPL season.

VST Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd
Founder: Alvin George 
Founded: 2015 
Based: Kochi 
It is an innovative global supplier for IoT-based mobility solutions. It has an end-to-end platform on telematics which includes software and hardware products for the intelligent transportation system.

Ewire Softtech Pvt Ltd 
Founders: D Udayabhanu and Yunus P Mohammed 
Founded: 2018 
Based: Bengaluru 
It is a future-driven digital payment app which acts as a complete virtual bank. It serves consumers with digital banking facilities on the move. As a digital wallet and card, it can be used by multi-users for multi purposes.

Farmers Fresh Zone 
Founder: Pradeep P S 
Founded: 2015 
Based: Kochi 
Farmers Fresh Zone is an agritech social startup based in Kochi. Started in 2015 with the aim to support and uplift the rural farming community, the model connects rural farmers with urban consumers. 

Iboson Innovations Pvt Ltd 
Founders: Vishnu J P 
Founded: 2016
Based: Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram 
UniteAR is an augmented reality platform that enables everyone to create their own augmented reality experience. It is world’s fastest SaaS platform for augmented reality. 

Grants provided by KSUM
 Ideation grant: Upto Rs 2 lakh
(applicable for startups and innovators, potential tech/business ideas at the 
ideation stage)
Productisation grant: Upto rs 7 lakh (applicable for startups having a prototype or MVP)
 Scaleup grant: Upto Rs 12 lakh (applicable for startups with strong market potential and revenue)