Thiruvananthapuram: Giving a boost to the startup ecosystem, government entities and banks have shown keen interest in innovative products and solutions displayed by the fintech startups at the online expo held as part of the 8th edition of ‘Big Demo Day’ series of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).
Impressed by the products displayed at the expo, Kerala State Co-operative Bank, known by the brand Kerala Bank, and Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) invited fintech startups to showcase their products and solutions before them, a statement said on Saturday.
The virtual expo also drew good response from Kerala Gramin Bank (KGB), South Indian Bank (SIB), DBS Bank, YES Bank, ESAF Small Finance Bank and several non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
Chiratae ventures, Unicorn Ventures, India accelerator, We Founder Circle, Digital Futurists Angels (DFAN), Inflection Point Ventures and IAN Investors were among the visitors to the expo.
Around 11 fintech startups supported by KSUM took part in the expo to explore market for their products and services and establish linkage with industry and investors.
Speaking online at the opening session of the expo, Rathan U Kelkar, Principal Secretary, Electronics and IT, Government of Kerala, said by grooming the startup ecosystem the government aims at bringing more business to the state and benefits for society as a whole.
Acting as a facilitator, the government has been extending all support to startups and connect them with businesses, Kelkar said.
“We are looking at various sectors as technology has already reached all sectors of economy. We would like to be at the forefront by ensuring that we get the best out of the technology,” he said.
Kelkar said with the advent of 5G, the ecosystem will become more vibrant and get more opportunities.
KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika, addressing the expo through videoconferencing, said KSUM has been taking pro-active steps to create more avenues for startups to see that their products get early adopters and customers, besides support from strategic investors.
Anoop noted that Big Demo Day is a very focused effort for startups, investors and customers to come and spend a productive day, besides figuring out interesting products and startups.
The expo set a platform for industry and investors to leverage products and services from the startup ecosystem, especially those developed by fintech startups for industry-specific problems.
The startups that participated in the expo included Aceware FinTech Services, Ptblync Software Solutions, Ewire Softtech, Traice Analytics Solutions, Riafy Technologies, Clubalpha Technologies, Finsall Resources, Chillar Payment Solutions, Pixdynamics, Remitap Fintech Solutions and Rimit Payments.
KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
