BENGALURU: The ELEVATE programme that identifies top innovative startups in Karnataka received around 30% applications from beyond Bengaluru and other developing clusters in the state this year, said Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM).
He added that Beyond Bengaluru is not just about promoting startups from clusters, but also encouraging diversity. “We had around 30-35% of women entrepreneurs participating in ELEVATE this year,” Gupta said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the BTS on Thursday along with Madan Padaki, President, TiE in the city. The initiative also aims to take venture capitalists to emerging clusters outside the IT capital and promote them. At this year’s summit, 24 startups were enabled to showcase their creation and innovation.
The ‘Karnataka Accelerator Network’ has also been initiated. “Generally, startups rush to Bengaluru when they want to scale. Therefore, a mentorship programme will be organised to have an accelerator in Bengaluru, one in each of the clusters, to provide mentorship to the startups. Gradually, startups in clusters will be built and the number of entrepreneurs will also go up,” said Gupta.