Seeding Kerala 2021 Summit: Sixth Edition Of KSUM’s Flagship Angel Investors Summit Goes Virtual

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the state’s nodal agency for startups, will be hosting the sixth edition of its flagship Seeding Kerala initiative next month. Slated for February 12-13, the two-day Seeding Kerala 2021 summit has gone virtual this year and aims to bring high net worth individuals (HNI) from Kerala and leading investors from across the country to develop the early stage investment ecosystem in the state. The summit has been designed with a focus on nurturing a startup investment culture among HNIs.The delegates will get the opportunity to identify their investment thesis and appetite through a series of informal sessions and interactions.

It’s also an opportunity for India’s brightest startups to showcase their ideas to an audience of VC funds, angel investors as well as other entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals (HNI), and stalwarts of the Indian startup ecosystem.

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Speaking of the challenges that KSUM intends to solve with the initiative, Riyas PM, project director of KSUM said, “Startups need early funding of INR 25 Lakh to 3 Cr. Across the globe,  this amount is generally invested by angel investors. Kerala has a vibrant HNI community but they are not well aware of the prospects of startup investment. Seeding Kerala addresses this dual challenge of HNI education in startup investment and ensuring the availability of early-stage funding for startups.”

Seeding Kerala 2021 will shine the spotlight on startups emerging from Kerala’s Tier 2 cities with an overall focus on leveraging startups in the digital transformation of Kerala. The summit will introduce the startups to a wider ecosystem and also aims to equip them to take the IPO route.

To facilitate the same, Seeding Kerala will host an exclusive IPO round the table. The session will be organised in partnership with the Bombay Stock Exchange, where startup founders who have gone through the public listing process, as well as IPOs, will share their knowledge and guidance with young startups. 

There will be a session on ESOP to provide insights to offering stock options for employee retention and the perspective of investors towards it.  

The speakers of Seeding Kerala 2021 includes dignitaries like Kris Gopalakrishnan, Kiran Karnik and Raman Roy.

The Seeding Kerala 2021 summit will see over 200 selected participants, 100 HNIs, 10 angel networks, and 30 startup founders coming together to learn, grow and mutually benefit from the supportive startup ecosystem. Apart from the investors and HNI, the summit will also bring in senior government officials from both the state and central government to facilitate the event to success.

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What To Expect At Seeding Kerala 2021 Summit

Angel Masterclass

• The first masterclass of the event is called ‘Fundraising Strategies’ where various experts and investors will share their experience on the fundraising process for startups. The masterclass is scheduled at 2 pm on February 12, 2021
• The ‘First Principles Of Investing’, hosted by Padmaja Ruparel, cofounder of Indian Angel Network and founding partner of IAN Fund, will delve into the metrics and data that investors look at when backing early-stage startups.

Panel Discussions On Decoding Kerala Startups

Scheduled on February 13 from 10:30 am, KSUM will bring investors and experts together to discuss and decode the problems around the Kerala startup ecosystem and provide their insights into the matter. The panel consists of angel investor Raveendranath Kamath, Babu Sivadasan, cofounder and chairman of Paanini Inc, and Anil Joshi, managing partner of Unicorn India Ventures.

In-Depth Case Studies And Analysis From Kerala

Seeding Kerala will also present various panel discussions scheduled for February 13 on sector-specific startups and discuss some core problems with case studies and analysis. For the event, panel discussions on fintech, consumer tech, and life sciences have been announced.

Pitching Sessions For Startups

The event will host various pitching sessions for startups to showcase their ideas and try to win funding for their venture. The selected startups will present their startup ideas in front of the investors and HNI and will try to secure fundings.

Overall, in the past editions of the Seeding Kerala summit, startups have seen INR 70 Cr in investments from the participating VCs, HNIs, and angel investors. 

Among other startups that bagged investments was D2C brand Bumberry which was funded by Kerala Angel Network, an angel network from TiE Kerala chapter. Also, HR Tech startup ZappyHire and Wellness startup, I Love 9 Months which secured seed funding in the past edition of the Seeding Kerala Summit.

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