ABLE with support from the Department of Electronics, IT & Bt, Government of Karnataka is coordinating and collaborating with other ecosystem partners in the State to conduct a series of Capacity Development Workshops for Startups working on sectors focused on Rural Impact and Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability. On 10th December 2022, conducted “Capacity Building Workshop for Startups working on Rural Technology & Rural Entrepreneurship Development” at JSS Science and Technology University, Mysuru. This workshop aimed to bring in the experts from the field of Agritech, biotech and manufacturing to provide an insight into the technological advancement that can increase productivity, promote rural entrepreneurship and use the technological tools to improve the health and bring “Ease of Living” for rural population.

The workshop started off with the opening remarks of Dr. S. Nanjunda Swamy, President, IIC-JSS STU and an overview about ABLE by Mr Narayanan Suresh, Chief Operating Officer, ABLE. The speakers were Mr Ravi Trivedi, Indian Administrative Fellow, Agriculture, Govt of Karnataka who spoke on AgriTech and the Government initiatives to make it future perfect. Dr. P. Manilal, Chief Scientist & Coordinator NPIC-CIF, CFTRI (Retd.) spoke on Food and Agritechnology and its opportunities galore for rural entrepreneurship. Dr. Shrilakshmi Desiraju, CEO- Co Founder at Triphase Pharmaceuticals spoke on Potential Role of Probiotics for Sustainability in Rural India and Mr Shajee Kozhukkunnon, Senior Director, Manufacturing Intelligence Division, Hexagon spoke on Leveraging Technology for Rural Reach - A NexGen Approach.

Dr Ravi Trivedi gave an overview of the current status & challenges in the agriculture sector. He also discussed the problems being pursued through AI and other innovations which will bring an impact on doubling the farmer income. The presence of many agritech startups can be built on top of Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning stack in the Karnataka state and innovation in agriculture and other areas can leapfrog the growth of Karnataka Agriculture. He also explained various government building blocks in digital agriculture.

Dr Shrilakshmi Desiraju, briefly explained her entrepreneurial journey of being a pioneer in the probiotics space and how she’s changing the world of probiotics through her startup Triphase Pharmaceuticals. Her mission of enhancing the quality of human life through probiotics has made Triphase the world’s first and only biotech startup that makes temperature-stable probiotic strains for various use cases. The startup’s first innovation in the probiotics space eliminated the cold chain from the industry. This probiotic industry is helping to provide the opportunity for entrepreneurship.

Dr P. Manilal highlighted various Food & Agri-Technologies of CSIR-CFTRI and how few selected technologies have their potential market impact which have opportunities for rural entrepreneurship. He explained the role of business incubators & innovation ecosystem, the opportunities & the potential for innovators & other stakeholders. He gave a glance through the stories of a few successful startups.

Dr Shajee Kozhukkunnon gave an overview of Hexagon's leveraging technology for rural reach. It is a multinational company which is working closely with the Government of Karnataka and the startups to provide automation in agriculture with drones in rural India. He explained how various industry-academia connect programs have direct engagement with local and global Industries and providing a platform to exhibit industry relevant skills & milestones.

ABLE with support from the Department of Electronics, IT & Bt, Government of Karnataka is coordinating and collaborating with other ecosystem partners in the State to conduct a series of Capacity Development Workshops for Startups working on sectors focused on Rural Impact and Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Sustainability.