BENGALURU: The Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology (IT, BT and ST) department is in talks with German officials to set up Indo-German accelerators in Bengaluru and Berlin. The accelerators will serve as hubs for startups to grow their businesses, get mentorship and seed investment. They will provide access to venture capitalists and other private investors.
“The accelerators being explored by the state government would help strengthen ties between the two countries. They would enable knowledge-sharing and drive investments,” Gaurav Gupta, principal secretary, IT, BT and ST department, said, adding that it will also facilitate a German-Indian startup exchange program.
“This is also being done to promote Karnataka government’s flagship programme, Bengaluru Tech Summit, to be held from November 18 to 20,” he added.A delegation from the department is currently visiting Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich and taking part in the Asia Pacific Week 2019 in Berlin, which started on May 13. They will engage with officials in Germany for startup engagement. So far, they have had discussions with Dr Hinrich Tholken, ambassador, special envoy for International Digital Policy and Digital Transformation, Federal Foreign Office, Germany, to share the digital trends and policies in Bengaluru. They also held discussions with Mukta D Tomar, Indian ambassador to Germany.
“The state is keen on developing global innovation alliances, where we can connect to innovation hubs across the globe,” Gupta added.Separate discussions were held with Asia-Pacific Forum Berlin, SAP Labs Network, the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry and several dignitaries.