The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) aims for the State’s contribution to India’s digital economy to reach $300 billion by 2026 by enabling holistic growth of the tech sector — IT, ITES, GCC’s, EPM companies, and startups - in the State, said Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of KDEM.
Karnataka currently contributes $100-110 billion to India’s digital economy. KDEM plans to deepen its partnership with the industry players and develop and establish tech clusters beyond the state’s capital— Bengaluru, to achieve higher contribution, said Gupta.
New clusters
The Mission has identified three new clusters — Kalaburgi, Raichur, and Davangere districts — in addition to the already identified Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad clusters.
“KDEM is attracting companies to set up their operations in the tech clusters beyond Bengaluru by profiling and defining the clusters by their specialties like Mangalore for electronics manufacturing and Hubballi-Dharwad for IT talent. In the last year, we have got 24 companies to invest in the first three clusters,” Gupta told businessline.
Initiatives for startups
KDEM is also working towards establishing a network of startup accelerators in the state. “We will create a network between three mature accelerators in Bengaluru and one each in the first three tech clusters. The accelerators in Bengaluru will act as mentor accelerators, this will help the startups stay put in the tech clusters after completing their incubation program,” Gupta said. The Karnataka government has budgeted approximately ₹20 crore to set up this network, he added.
It also aims to support over 1000 startups in the next year by getting them on the Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid — a platform that provides network, market, mentorship, and investment access to startups. “Currently, there are over 400 startups on the platform,” Gupta said.
The mission also provides grants through its “Elevate program.” Gupta said, to date, the Government has provided ₹165 crore in grants, benefiting around 700 startups. KDEM also plans to woo venture capitalists to invest in startups founded in emerging tech clusters.