K’taka Digital Economy Mission inks MoU with SJCE-STEP to build ecosystem for start-ups

NT Correspondent

Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) in its endeavour to augment India’s start-up ecosystem and collaborative innovation, entered into a memorandum of understanding with Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering–Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (SJCE-STEP) in Mysuru on Sunday.

The MoU highlights KDEM’s prowess in intensifying its drive to build a robust start-up ecosystem while spotlighting skill development, employment generation and overall development across Karnataka.

This MoU will help KDEM and SJCE-STEP create a symbiosis of investment support, mentorship, start-up incubation and rural entrepreneurship. The KDEM will function as a knowledge bridge between the Government of Karnataka and the industry, and will facilitate the setting up of a global entrepreneurship centre in order to accommodate more than 100 start-ups.

Together, the KDEM and SJCE-STEP will provide unsurpassed facilities for enterprise establishment and innovation. Speaking on this important development, BV Naidu, chairman, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, said: “The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission has been unwavering in its commitment to harness the limitless potential of the state’s digital economy in order to transform the lives of the people. This MoU with SJCE-STEP is a stride in this direction. With their expertise, it will surely give us leverage in reinforcing talent building, stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation throughout Karnataka.”

Dr EV Ramana Reddy, additional chief secretary – Department of Electronics, IT-BT & S&T graced the event virtually and said, “I congratulate the KDEM and SJCE-STEP for creating this platform for all of us to connect and boost an innovative ecosystem in the city of Mysuru. Global players like Infosys, Wipro, IBM, L&T etc have played a vital role in nurturing the talent and providing global exposure to the local ecosystem. We now look forward to PROXLEERA furthering the ecosystem of Mysuru and Karnataka and supporting initiatives of the GoK to keep reaching higher global heights. With the VLSI design expertise and IT projects in the digital and analogue domains, Mysuru will learn a lot from the companies. PROXLEERA will also benefit from the rapidly increasing skilled workforce.

Karnataka has always been at the forefront in promoting the idea of innovation and a techfocused ecosystem and we can further accelerate this by supporting smaller cities and thereby facilitating their transformation into an economic powerhouse.”

Commenting on this partnership, Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, MD & CEO Lahari said, “KDEM and SJEC-STEP will leverage our unique strengths to proliferate the growth of world-class digital ecosystems in the state of Karnataka. Our mission is to go beyond attracting investments. Together, we aim at strengthening the deep tech ecosystem in cluster markets by creating a scale infrastructure and robust skill-poll of global standards.

“This initiative will play a vital role in furthering skill development in the technology space for the youth and boost employment while stimulating talent. Our purpose will be to go above and beyond the purview of this MoU in creating a robust entrepreneur ecosystem.”