BENGALURU: The state government on Monday announced the launch of a Centre for Entrepreneurship in Kalaburagi under the Local Economy Accelerator Programme (LEAP).
With an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, the five-year initiative is designed to encourage regional entrepreneurship, decentralise innovation and accelerate economic growth across various tech clusters in the state.
Making the announcement, IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the Kalaburagi district administration has allocated 15,000 sqft ready-to-use work space in partnership with the KrishiKalpa Foundation. It will also function as the startup hub and will support agripreneurs, innovators and other stakeholders. The centre will be formally launched in January 2026.
“Kalaburagi has immense untapped potential. It is a region where over 70% of the workforce contributes to the agrarian economy. Through LEAP and the new centre, the rural-urban divide will be bridged by bringing technology, innovation and opportunity directly to the communities.
With Karnataka’s IT-BT sector crossing Rs 1.5 lakh crore and LEAP projected to create over five lakh jobs, this centre of excellence will energise Kalaburagi’s youth to build sustainable livelihoods through agri-tech, deep-tech and allied-sector innovation,” he said.
N Manjula, Secretary, IT-BT department, said, “LEAP reflects our mission to democratise innovation beyond Bengaluru. The centre in Kalaburagi will tap into the region’s agricultural strengths and emerging technology capability, enabling rural innovators to scale sustainable and competitive enterprises.”
Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), said they are working on building an inclusive, future-ready ecosystem that integrates deep- tech, IT/ITES and agri-tech.