Need more steps to improve startup ecosystem in AP

Low ranking is unfortunate and the stakeholders shall initiate corrective steps to conduct more hackathons to identify young talent and encourage them to strengthen the ecosystem

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh has miles to go to improve its startup ecosystem after getting recognised as an emerging destination along with Bihar, Mizoram and newly carved out Ladakh Union Territory.

Officials admit AP's ranking as 'disappointing' at a time when Karnataka, Gujarat, Meghalaya and Telangana received recognition as top performers in the Startup Ranking.

The ranking was released for 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Delhi on Monday.

"We all (State Government, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and IT Association of AP) need to work together to improve the startup ecosystem in AP," ITAAP president Sridhar Kosaraju told Bizz Buzz on Tuesday.

When his comments were sought on low ranking, he opined "We need to do startup events on regular basis at least sizeable event every quarter and bring venture capitalists and mentors on to this platform. We need to give awards to creative startups. We will definitely work on this to bring significant changes in the near future."

A senior official seeking anonymity admitted the low ranking as unfortunate and pointed out that they will initiate corrective steps to conduct more hackathons to identify young talent and encourage them to strengthen the ecosystem.

Andhra University Incubution Center Head and CEO Ravi Eswarapu said "We need concentrated efforts across all stakeholders to make the ranking move up steadily. AU hub started late but confident that we will catch up and make a big difference."

In AP, Visakhapatnam, the largest commercial and industrial hub in AP is the main centre for startups.

According to some of the stakeholders in startup field, more incentives should be given to facilitate seed capital, mentoring, and patent guidance as well as provide co-working space for plug and play as part of hand-holding young entrepreneurs.

Besides grace marks, attendance waiver to some extent should be given to students who setup startups even before completing their studies, a founder of a successful startup opined. Boot camps should also be conducted regularly at colleges to encourage students to pitch out of the box ideas and translate them into startup enterprises.

The State has five incubators operated by AP Innovative Society (APIS)-the nodal agency for promotion of innovation culture.

Incubators are located at Startup Innovation Hub in Visakhapatnam and various places at Tirupati, Tadepalli, Kakinada and Anantapur. IT and Industry Minister Gudivada Amarnath said that they have plans to promote startup culture in a big way by involving private players and domain experts.