KSUM partners with Google for startups to foster global links

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has announced a collaboration with tech giant Google for local startups to connect with the global startup community.

This wider network enables local startups to leverage Google's programme comprising mentorship and training of startup teams to help scale up their solutions. 

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The partnership was announced by Mr Paul Ravindranath, Head of Google for Startups Accelerator, India, at the Huddle Global' conclave of KSUM that kicked off here on Saturday. The collaboration will enable Kerala's startups to join a wider network to leverage Google's programme comprising mentorship and training of startup teams for scaled-up solutions, an official statement said here.

The pact comes when markets outside of Silicon Valley are expected to increasingly impact the global startup and technology ecosystem in the coming years. While it is easier than ever to start a firm, access to successful methodologies, expert mentors and best practices for building companies remain unevenly distributed. 

Ravindranath, who is also Google's Programme Manager (Developer Relations), said the company's path-breaking programme is about empowering startup communities around the world and help them leverage each other for insights and resource sharing. We are excited about bringing this to startups under the KSUM umbrella. 

We are thrilled to expand our collaboration with KSUM and its exceptional startup portfolio, he said. Commenting on the tie-up, John M Thomas, CEO, KSUM, said Partnering with Google for Startups will help our startups experience new technology arenas and global standard. 

KSUM is looking forward to imbibing the best practices from global arena that would bolster our ecosystem. This year, KSUM, as an enabler of startup ecosystem in the state and a catalyst for the tech ecosystem's growth and development, will formalise its relationship with Google for Startups to continue supporting India's growing startup industry. Google for Startups operates a global startup accelerator programme and other startup-focused programmes to help fledgling firms focus on their core solution so as to grow, the statement explained. 

The Kerala Startup Mission Google for Startups' initiative will connect KSUM to an elite group of the world's top accelerators, allowing it to share information and leverage resources, it said. The state-run agency would also access Google's global network, insights from the company's Silicon valley-based startup programmes and 20 years' worth of Google research and best practice insights on building businesses, products and teams at a massive scale.

These resources will help scale the businesses exponentially of KSUM's startup portfolio that already includes some of the fastest-growing companies. Google for Startups doesn't take an equity stake in accelerator portfolio startups, instead focuses on developing companies and their ecosystems over the long term.

Through its collaboration with Google for Startups, KSUM and India as a whole will join a growing network of top, independent accelerators across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, it added. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.