Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to inaugurate 'Huddle Global' meet on Feb 19

Kerala's robust strides in start-up ecosystem and innovation will be on full display at the third edition of the annual 'Huddle Global' conference, which gets underway here on February 19.

The event is envisaged to offer a platform for start-ups to showcase their products and interact with a clutch of technology and industry leaders on ways to move ahead in the post-pandemic world.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the two-day virtual event, billed as one of Asia's largest start-up ecosystem congregations and India's biggest networking platform for entrepreneurs, an official statement said here.

The big-ticket brainstorming event, organised by the Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), will focus on business, investment and partnership opportunities for start-ups in a world that is grappling with unwelcome repercussions of the COVID pandemic.

Minister for Industries, Law and Coir, P. Rajeeve would preside over the inaugural ceremony that commences at 9 AM.

A Blockchain Summit has been planned as part of the conference on the concluding day.

The event will set the stage for a meeting of globally-known start-up founders, mentors, investors, industry leaders and representatives of government departments to deliberate a whole range of issues relating to the start-up ecosystem with a global perspective, it said.

The online conclave will primarily look into the scope of entrepreneurial opportunities across the world and explore the availability of financial and technical backing for start-ups to accelerate their growth and reach.

The event features keynote sessions, leadership talks, tech talks, start-up demo and other business-oriented activities.

Start-up expo of both global and Kerala-based start-ups is also organized along with pitch sessions and dedicated mentoring sessions, which will be led by about 30 mentors.

Start-ups will sign MoUs with Google, Habitat, Jetro, Global Accelerator Network, I Hub Gujarat, NASSCOM, CSL and so on at the conference, it said.

"This edition of Huddle Global has been planned on a bigger scale to look into the whole gamut of issues and opportunities concerning the ecosystem from a global perspective," said John M Thomas, CEO, KSUM.

The role of start-ups has become increasingly vital in a world where technology and innovation are the driving force of developmental initiatives. We have invited world leaders to the event as that will help forge cross border partnerships and development initiatives, he noted.

The event is being held on a platform created by KSUM to accommodate more than 2,000 people. Kerala IT Parks are also joining hands with KSUM in the conference.

Eminent start-up founders and influencers in the ecosystem across the world are expected to address various sessions at the conference.

KSUM, the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, has been organising 'Huddle Kerala' since 2018.

It is one of the major start-up conferences of the country that brings together all the stakeholders in the ecosystem.

More than 5,000 start-ups from across the country have already participated in the event with wide participation from investors, government, academia and industry community, the statement added.