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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to inaugurate Huddle Global 2024, India's premier startup festival, at the Hotel Leela Raviz, Kovalam, on November 28.
Organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the three-day event aims to bolster Kerala's thriving startup ecosystem by fostering innovation and facilitating global partnerships. Now in its sixth edition, the event will spotlight cutting-edge innovations from Deep Tech and R&D startups. It will also feature discussions and networking opportunities aimed at attracting investments, providing mentorship, and showcasing Kerala's advancements in the startup sector. The conclave will host prominent speakers from various fields. Notable participants include Sridhar Vembu, Founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation; historian William Dalrymple; ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath; and KSIDC Managing Director S. Harikishore. Several roundtable discussions are planned, covering sectors such as agriculture, space defence, and Global Capability Centres (GCC). Industries Minister P. Rajeeve will lead the GCC-focused roundtable, designed to attract investment opportunities for businesses establishing operations in Kerala. Panel discussions on the opening day will feature global dignitaries, including Erik af Hallstrom, Consul General of Finland; Jonas Brunschwig, Consul General of Switzerland; Richard McCallum, Group CEO of the UK-India Business Council; Silai Zaki, Consul General of Australia; and Jorge Loyola Castro, Trade Commissioner to India, ProChile. A session on port-driven industrial clusters will explore the potential of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, with insights from Dr. Divya S. Iyer, Managing Director of the port; Pradeep Jayaraman, CEO of Adani Vizhinjam Port; and Anil Raj, Managing Director of Systrome Technologies. The event will also feature tech talks on emerging topics such as green hydrogen, quantum technologies, and autonomous vehicles. Highlights include a session by K. R. Jyothilal, Additional Chief Secretary of Kerala, on green hydrogen and clean energy, and a discussion on graphene's transformative potential, led by Dr. Alex James of Digital University Kerala. KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika highlighted that the event will strengthen Kerala's global connections, enabling startups to secure funding, scale their operations, and establish international collaborations. Chief Minister Vijayan will also engage with startup founders during the inauguration to better understand their needs and challenges. (ANI)
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