Kerala Startup Mission is ready to kick off the IDEA FEST‘19 in the second week of April, 2019. IDEA FEST aimed at promoting the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth of the State, this event, organised by KSUM, will focus exclusively on innovative projects from various colleges in Kerala.
This year will witness the Industry giants EY, NISH, Finastra, Resnova & Reap Benefit running the show. EY is offering Internship opportunities & Resnova recognises selected students with cash award. Others are supporting the students in mentoring and funding.
The application forms were opened on Jan 22, 2019 and the deadline for applying will be on March 10, 2019. The shortlisting will be done in multiple stages. The initial screening will be done by the KSUM IEDC Team and the next level of screening will be done by experts at a zonal level. The final selection will be through a prototype evaluation that is to be organised in the second week of April 2019. The shortlisted innovators will get an opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of experts. Innovators recommended by the selection panels will be provided an innovation grant depending on the stage of their idea or product and will also be given Lab supports and mentorship for developing their ideas into ventures. All ideas will have to be accompanied by a certificate from the respective IEDC of the college or endorsed by the Principal
“There is an urgent need for enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation among the youth in Kerala. Setting up of Technology startups during the college days gives a great learning experience for students as the practical experience they acquire during the process will complement the theoretical knowledge creating well rounded professionals. As an agency committed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, KSUM is making multiple interventions among the youth of Kerala to realise the same and the month-long Idea Fest is expected to bring out great ideas which have potential to be converted into full fledge ventures in the near future” said Dr. Saji Gopinath, CEO of Kerala Startup Mission.
KSUM will be also be organising a set of lead up events to prepare students for participating in the Idea Fest. This will include a series of zonal meet ups named INSPIRE’19 and workshops delivered through partners to help students understand the basics of entrepreneurship and insights into how to build a product and a customer base. KSUM will also be organising various ideation, design thinking, product development and idea pitching workshops for the students.
The Idea Day was conceptualized by Government of Kerala to promote innovation in the State and to play a vital role in the identification of new innovations in core sectors and futuristic technologies. At an idea stage, the innovators will be provided up to 2 lakhs INR for building the prototype. Startups who have already developed their prototypes will be given up to 7 lakhs INR for launching their product and the startups in the early revenue stage will be given up to 12 lakhs INR for scaling their venture. For student startups, the funds will be disbursed through IEDCs and through registered incubators for innovators. Startups who have registered as a Pvt. Ltd. company can avail the grants directly from KSUM. The disbursal of the funds will be in tranches, based on the periodic reviews by KSUM. The innovator/startup will need to submit a progress report and utilization certificate at the end of stipulated period.
Kerala Startup Mission has selected 44 ideas for innovation grant support through the past Idea Fest. In the last Idea Fest, around 2000 applications were received in the interest form stage and a count of 841 applications in the second stage after shortlisting.
After the finals, 44 students got Funding support, 5 students got various IT services support, 8 got mentorship support and 16 got Fab and Future lab support. Idea Fest 2019 is planned to be organised on April 15th, focusing on a wide range of sectors in collaboration with various industries and organisations.