Visitors flocked to the expo organized as part of the start-up festival Huddle Global 2024 in Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram. Humanoid robots greeted guests at the State’s flagship start-up conclave, showcasing the futuristic products the 100-odd participating startups developed. These ventures span a wide range of innovative sectors, including edutech, augmented reality/virtual reality, fintech, life sciences, space tech, healthtech, blockchain, IoT (Internet of Things), eGovernance, and AI/machine learning.
Start-ups launched by women entrepreneurs have been attracting considerable attention at the event. Leading the charge are ventures incubated under Digital University Kerala’s Women Incubation, Start-ups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) scheme, which aims to foster a women entrepreneurship ecosystem. These enterprises have created learning apps that deliver interactive educational content and a networking platform that connects mentors and mentees globally, allowing students to benefit from the vast experience of successful entrepreneurs.
Led by project coordinator Elizabeth Sherly, the WISE project supports three start-ups developing apps that provide mental healthcare support, combining sports with psychology and athlete wellness and an accelerated composting system. The start-up expo also features separate zones for deep tech, allowing visitors to understand technology’s future potential through hands-on experiences. Emerging technology showcases progress in energy, healthcare, digital media and entertainment, food and agriculture, and space.
Significant are the new methods for biomedical waste treatment
The event also includes various start-ups testing new methods for biomedical waste treatment. Local robotics company Genrobotics’s products are displayed alongside those from other robotics giants like Toboid, Automate, Freeman Robotics, and Inker Robotics. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stall displays models to entertain and inform visitors about its Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan projects.
Other start-ups include those aimed at reducing carbon footprint and creating sustainable energy sources, AI-based assessment platforms, AI-based educational apps, mobile septage treatment units, and biosensors using graphene. Senior Congress leader and four-time Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, has emphasized that Kerala’s startup ecosystem has become a major player in India’s growing startup landscape. Speaking at the Huddle Global 2024, India’s flagship startup conclave, Tharoor titled his address “The Elephant that is Becoming a Tiger: India’s Startup Ecosystem and Tech Entrepreneurship,” a reference to his book “The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cellphone.
Tharoor commended Kerala for its innovation, sustainability, and inclusiveness, stating that the state’s startup ecosystem is a “glittering jewel” in India’s crown.
He stressed the need for Kerala to streamline regulatory compliances and procedures to support aspiring entrepreneurs, attract capital, and enable faster growth by dismantling oppressive red tape. Highlighting the evolution of India’s startup ecosystem, Tharoor asserted that the nation is at a critical juncture, ready to make a single imaginative leap for more incredible momentum. He compared startups’ progress to an elephant transforming into a tiger, symbolizing persistence and innovation and playing a vital role in the country’s transformation.
Kerala startups thrive at Huddle Global
Moreover, Tharoor pointed out that startups have demonstrated the reusability and “reimaginability” of everything. He stated that the surge of entrepreneurial culture has shifted India from a country of job-seekers to a job-creating economy, even as rising unemployment has invigorated the youth’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Lauding the Kerala Startup Mission for its flagship festival, Tharoor remarked on the impressive array of products, ranging from robots and home automation to medical technology. Five startups led by women entrepreneurs were spotlighted at Huddle Global 2024, Kerala’s annual startup summit, in Kovalam last Friday. These startups garnered significant attention from investors, mentors, and fellow entrepreneurs as they made it to the final round of the ‘ElevateHER’ program organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).
Some relief, specifically for women founders
The ‘ElevateHER’ program, a three-week hybrid investment readiness initiative, was designed specifically for women founders. Out of nine exceptional women-led startups from across India, five moved on to the final, gaining the opportunity to pitch their products and services during the ‘Open Pitch’ session at the summit. The five finalists included Kuhu Krishna, founder of WrdHrd Technologies Pvt Ltd; Juliana Biju, founder & CEO of ReWago; Krishna Karappath, co-founder of Suee; Priya Deepak, founder & CEO of Kitch Natural Cookware Pvt Ltd; and Chandana S, co-founder & CEO of BreadCrumbs AI.
Suee is known for its high-quality and sustainable handloom products. BreadCrumbs AI offers personalized smart meal planning, featuring effortless cooking through image analysis and audio transcripts. Kuhu Krishna’s WrdHrd Technologies has developed Noicely.ai, which supports live transcription in over ten Indian languages, including Hindi, English, and Bengali.
Kitch Natural Cookware, led by Priya Deepak, specializes in authentic natural cookware and supports craftspeople and artisans across India. ReWago, under Juliana Biju, is pioneering India’s first e-commerce platform dedicated to sustainable lifestyle shopping. Juliana Biju of ReWago expressed ambitions to capture a significant market share in the Asia-Pacific region.
Krishna Karappath of Suee highlighted their focus on Kannur handloom fabric, which holds a Geographical Indication (GI) for dyeing, and revealed plans for retail expansion in tier-1 cities and globally through e-commerce. ElevateHER participants were upskilled in investor pitch deck development, storytelling, and elevator pitch techniques through hands-on mock pitch sessions. The Women Zone at Huddle Global also featured leadership talks, expos, and innovation hubs, providing mentorship and celebrating the achievements of female-led startups.
The event, which included exclusive boot camps and masterclasses, aimed to foster growth and provide valuable insights into the entrepreneurial journey of women-led startups across various industries.
