Thiruvananthapuram: The fifth edition of India’s most coveted beach startup festival, ‘Huddle Global’, planned by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) from November 16 to 18 in the state capital, will bring together globally-known startup founders, mentors, investors, industry leaders and bureaucrats to deliberate on a whole range of issues relating to the startup ecosystem with a global perspective.
Besides showcasing the southern state’s vibrant and well-positioned startup ecosystem, the conclave at Somatheeram beach, Chowara, close to the famed Kovalam beach destination, will chart out the way forward factoring in disruptive technological revolution cutting through the entire spectrum of human activities.
Also, the meet will focus on tapping the government and corporate business opportunities and beating the funding winter, besides deliberating on a range of live issues that need to be factored in for further growth of the ecosystem.
An impressive line-up of speakers including entrepreneurs, managers, venture funders, investors looking for new technologies, mentors and startup promoters from across the world will make presentations and join deliberations, sharing their insights on critical themes relating to the startup ecosystem within and outside the country.
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Set in the sylvan background overlooking the sea, the Huddle Global will have more than 15,000 participants, turning the summit into a forum to establish global linkages and open up win-win partnership opportunities for stakeholders.
The focal sectors of the conclave are Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR), fintech, life sciences, space tech, health tech, blockchain, IoT (Internet of Things), e-governance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML).
The conclave will feature sessions like ‘Marketing Madness’, ‘Super Coders’, ‘Founders Meet’,‘Partner in Growth’, ‘Impact 50’, ‘Pitch it Right’, ‘Branding Challenge’, ‘Huddle Speed Dating’, ‘Build it Big’, ‘Tiger’s Claw’, and ‘Sun down Huddle’.
According to KSUM CEO Shri Anoop Ambika, Huddle Global 2023 will look into the scope of entrepreneurial opportunities across the world and explore the availability of financial and technical backing for startups to accelerate their growth and reach on an unprecedented scale and speed.
“Huddle Global has been envisaged as a platform for startups to showcase their products and interact with technology and industry leaders from around the world on ways to move ahead in the ever-growing tech world”, Shri Anoop said.
The key speakers at the event include Dr Shashi Tharoor MP; Dr Rathan U Kelkar, Secretary, Electronics and IT, Government of Kerala; Mr Federico Salas Lotfe, Ambassador of Mexico to India.
The event will also have a startup expo, masterclass and workshops by corporates/investors,an IEDC Hackathon, investor open pitches with 100 investors, PAN India State collaboration discussions and announcements, funding and business announcements, roundtable discussions, investor meetups, mentor meetings, and corporate challenges.
The expo will provide an avenue for more than 200 startups from the country’s ecosystem to exhibit their products before the stakeholders and to connect with them for business and funding opportunities.
Setting the stage for startups to understand the market and pitch their products before global investors, the conclave will feature keynote sessions, leadership talks, tech talks, and panel discussions with international embassies, industry experts, investors, venture capitalists and corporate leaders.
The meet will bring immense opportunities for startups to get mentored by industry leaders with an in-depth understanding of various aspects of products, services, design, marketing strategies, capital structuring, fundraising and business development.
The event, organised in partnership with Startup India, Headstart, TiE Kerala, GTech, Startup Middle East, Habitat for Humanity, and Technopark Today will have the presence of more than 5,000 startups, 400 plus HNIs, 300 plus mentors, 200 plus corporates, 150 plus investors and speakers and more than 200 exhibitors.
KSUM, the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, has been organising ‘Huddle Kerala’ since 2018. More than 5,000 startups from across the country had attended the previous editions of the event, including investors, government officials, members of academia and the business community.