Kochi, May 18 (IANS): Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, has been ranked as the world's top public business incubator.

The ranking has been announced by the UBI Global World Benchmark Study 2021-2022 of Business Incubators and Accelerators, marking a major endorsement of its role in turning Kerala into a vibrant startup hub.

For arriving at this recognition, UBI Global assessed 1,895 organisations.

UBI Global is a Sweden-based innovation intelligence company and community founded in 2013 in Stockholm. The award was handed over at a function in Belgium .

"KSUM's incubation programmes demonstrated exceptional value for client startups, value for the local ecosystem, and overall attractiveness as a programme. Following a rigorous data-driven approach, we assessed and benchmarked incubation organisations across the world," said Head of Research at UBI Global, Joshuah Sowah.

The World Benchmark Study is conducted to identify the best programmes from around the world and share the best practices for building a robust startup ecosystem.

KSUM received major accolades in the last five years, adding to the momentum of its incubation activities that accelerated the growth of nascent firms.

In 2018, 2019 and 2021, the state was ranked as the top performer in the state startup rankings by Startup India, which comes under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).