Karnataka Looks To Develop Mangaluru As A Fintech Hub

In its endeavour to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Karnataka, the state government is planning to earmark a seed capital of INR 25 Cr for setting up an industrial cluster in Mangaluru.

Karnataka’s science and technology minister CN Ashwath Narayan said this while addressing the Mangaluru Technovanza event organised by the Mangaluru Cluster of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM).

The minister added that the state government will establish a two-lakh square feet ‘Mangaluru Innovation Hub’ to spur industrial development in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and Kodagu.

The project will be launched under the aegis of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation (KEONICS) in cooperation with Infosys and other private players.

Calling Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts the ‘cradle of Indian banking’, Ashwath said that the government was keen on developing the Mangaluru cluster as a fintech hub. 

Citing the state’s plans to establish at least 50 fintech companies in the cluster, he said that the move will give further impetus to its plan of achieving $500 Bn business turnover by 2030 from these companies.

“Just as Bengaluru city has become famous as India’s Silicon Valley due to the IT/BT (information technology/ biotechnology) companies, Mangaluru should become Silicon Beach,” news agency PTI quoted Ashwath Narayan as saying.

The ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ Approach

With Bengaluru emerging as the startup hub of the country, the state government has accelerated its plans to develop other industrial corridors in the state. Leveraging the expertise of specific regions, the state intends to create specific hubs in the state. 

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, which are the birthplaces of Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, and Karnataka Bank, will prospectively be developed as a banking and fintech hubs. Similarly, Mysuru will be developed as a cybersecurity hub.

In the past few months, the state government has announced a slew of sops, including the setting up of Karnataka Startup Hub, an IT park and a 1 Lakh sq. ft. plug-and-play manufacturing facility, for the Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi (HDB) region.

This comes close on the heels of tech giant Google signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state authorities to scale women-led startups and other ventures across tier 2 and tier 3 cities. 

The initiative is part of the Beyond Bengaluru approach undertaken by the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to create more jobs and opportunities in the region and to develop new tech clusters outside India’s Silicon valley.