THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is planning to set up 15,000 new startups, thereby creating 2 lakh jobs by 2026, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. “The government is mulling to set up a startup park, innovation technology labs and incubators to achieve the goal,” he said after inaugurating the Kerala Startup Mission Huddle Global 2022 Conference virtually. He said the number of startups in Kerala had increased from 300 in 2016 (when he took charge as CM) to 3,900 in 2021 (when the tenure of the first Pinarayi government ended).
“Around 35,000 people now work in startups. Startups in the state have attracted an investment of Rs 2,300 crore in the past six years. In 2020-21 alone, there was an investment of Rs 1,900 crore,” he said. Open Financial Technologies was the first unicorn company (startup with a value of over $1 billion) to be registered in Kochi under the leadership of Malayalis, he said. “It is expected to attract an investment of Rs 200 crore over the next five years,” he said.