Kochi, July 26 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh has begun discussions with Kochi-based Startup Village for support and expertise to replicate the incubation facility in the state.
Startup Village here is the first public-private partnership incubator in India's telecom sector, supporting 600 firms.
A high-level delegation led by Andhra Pradesh IT advisor J. Satyanarayana met Kochi Startup Village CEO Pranav Kumar Suresh and Infopark Chief Executive Officer Hrishikesh Nair at Startup Village to finalise the arrangements.
"We are really impressed with Startup Village and its functioning. We want to set up an incubation facility of a similar kind in Andhra Pradesh and are in consultation with the team here," said Satyanarayana after the visit.
The Andhra Pradesh delegation comprised Ajay Sawhney, principal secretary to chief minister among others.
It looked at the facilities being provided to young innovators kick-starting their businesses from Startup Village and discussed the Student Entrepreneurship Policy launched by the Kerala government to promote the culture of entrepreneurship among the youth.
"Startup Village is a dream to create a billion-dollar campus. When that dream becomes every state's dream, it becomes a reality. We are very happy to see that our idea has become a trendsetter. The fact that a state like Andhra Pradesh, which got on relatively early on the IT bandwagon compared to Kerala, should look to Startup Village for inspiration shows just how far we have come in these past two years," said Startup Village chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar.
Sawhney, said they want to create a similar ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh for promoting young entrepreneurs particularly by recommending to device a policy on the lines of the one in Kerala.