At WEF 2017, Priyank M. Kharge, Minister of State for Information Technology and Tourism for Karnataka, gave us undeniable proof why Karnataka has turned out to be the home of entrepreneurs, and why it’s the best place for women entrepreneurs at.
“We have about 600-700 seats across our 4 incubators in the state, of which 20 percent are reserved for women entrepreneurs, a first in the country,” according to the minister.
One of the most important facets of the multi sector startup policy is the Idea to Proof of Concept (Idea2POC) fund. Karnataka is probably the only state in the country which gives grants for an idea. If you have an idea disruptive and good enough to transform the vertical it is in, the state of Karnataka helps with grants of up to 50 lakhs.
“We will help with whatever mentoring and money and we won’t take your equity,” Minister Kharge claimed.
It’s Karnataka’s secret to being India’s Silicon Valley. Because of its multisectoral grant policies, Karnataka has been able to accommodate one of the highest number of startups in any Indian state.
The most women entrepreneur-friendly state in the world
“In the last 3 months alone we have funded close to 25-30 crores for startups in biotech and IT. What differentiates us from the other funders is that most of the entrepreneurs we have invested in are women. It has been encouraging to see women especially in the biotech sector. Another impressive entrepreneur was a lady who wanted to send broadband signal out into space using satellites. It’s actually so disruptive and innovative we funded her without even fully understanding what she wants to do,” the minister said jokingly.
Getting back to his core message the minister stated, “The point is that we are focusing on emerging technology and we have women entrepreneurs taking the lead.”
The minister announced new Centers of Excellence for aerospace (launching in June 2017). Another Centre of Excellence for Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will be headed by the IBM country head who is - a woman.
Karnataka recently hosted the largest women entrepreneurship summit in the world called, ‘ThinkBig’. And if there were any disbelievers who needed to proof beyond a doubt that Karnataka was indeed the best place for women entrepreneurs, the minister added, “Recently we were awarded the title of best state for women entrepreneurship in the world by Washington DC.”
Not just in startups, Karnataka aims to be progressive even in its industrial policy and is the first state to announce an industrial park dedicated for women. MSMEs and startups by women can be based in this park at subsidized prices.
On the matter of feminism, the minister chose to put the records straight from his experience as minister for IT in the thriving tech hub of Karnataka, “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. It isn’t even about these policies we create and keep talking about it. Women are already strong. I believe feminism is about changing the way the world perceives that strength. Imagine if Karnataka had not had Kiran Mazumdar Shaw or Dr Kamini A Rao; women who have inspired so many generations to become entrepreneurs.”
He left us with something Dr B R Ambedkar said, “I measure the progress of a community, by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”
“So I think women should stop saying that we can do anything men can do, but men should be saying that we can do anything women can do,” the Minister championing the cause of aspiring women entrepreneurs concluded.
BW Reporters
Regina is a reporter for BW Businessworld. In her previous assignments, she has worked with Independent television Network as a news anchor and reporter in Sri Lanka
