THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The focus of Keralam’s startup ecosystem should now be on quality over quantity, to provide deeper support to the innovators, said Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
“While close to 10,000 startups is a good number, the world does not judge an ecosystem by the number of startups it has, but rather how many of them succeed... While Startup Mission can be seen as a first phase, there should be a second phase — a Scale-up Mission — to scale up the entire system,” he said while inaugurating Huddle Global 2026, Asia’s biggest beachside startup festival at the Leela Kovalam here on Thursday.
Hailing the rich maritime history of the state, the CM said that the sea that once brought pepper merchants now brings investors; and the cargo is no longer spices, but ideas and innovations.
The government will also set up a consortium of state agencies like Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and investment banks to ensure that startups receive the required funds to translate ideas into products and scale them up on a global scale, Satheesan added.
Delivering the keynote address, Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty said the government’s vision is to develop Keralam into a global destination of investment and entrepreneurship.