Kochi to host Young Entrepreneurs Summit

Aiming to establish Kerala as a vibrant entrepreneurial state, Young Entrepreneurs Summit (YES) will be held here on Sept 12.
About 2000 entrepreneurs are expected to participate in the summit being organised by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) in association with Technopark-Technology Business Incubation Centre (T-TBI), Technopark, Infopark, KINFRA, Start Up Village, TiE Kerala and CII.
The event is envisaged as a launching pad and would campaign for a series of activities and initiatives that would aim to create a holistic ecosystem for enterprises in IT, technology, as well as non-IT sectors which have scope for value addition, growth and employment in the state.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy formally launched the logo of YES at a function in the state capital yesterday.
The Government had decided to observe September 12 every year as Kerala Entrepreneurship Day, and to earmark one per cent of the State's annual budget for entrepreneurship development activities. YES is being planned as a flagship event to mark this year's Kerala Entrepreneurship Day.
YES is aimed at fostering the growth of entrepreneurship in young minds and to create an enabling environment for start-ups in the state across all sectors.

The event will showcase the existing facilities and support services available to prospective young entrepreneurs to help realise their business dreams, a release said here.

The State Government had earlier, as part of the Emerging Kerala conclave in 2012, announced a Student Entrepreneurship Policy which had evoked enthusiastic response across the State.
This initiative triggered young prospective entrepreneurs to come forward & start enterprises in Kerala.
To catalyse and support such initiatives, as a follow-up, state Government proposes to launch an Angel Fund which will provide the initial seed capital for the startups.
KSIDC and KFC will contribute to the fund to be set up with contribution from successful entrepreneurs in the State. Such successful entrepreneurs will also be listed as Business Mentors to handhold the startups.

Technology mentors will also be identified from within and outside the State, the release added.