KSUM to organise national-level Coconut Challenge; seeks innovative ideas to revamp the sector

Kerala’s ubiquitous coconut will test the ingenuity of innovators, entrepreneurs and startups as Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is all set to organise a national-level Coconut Challenge aimed at fostering ideas and innovations to give an impetus to the coconut sector, including its farming, marketing and process improvement.

KSUM, in association with Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC) and State Planning Board, is holding the two-day competition on the sidelines of the International Coconut Conference and Expo 2018 on September 6-7 at The Raviz Kadavu, Kozhikode.

The event will be a unique opportunity for innovators, startups, individuals and students to showcase their ideas and prototypes that could facilitate mentoring and funding support from various government agencies.

The main objective of the programme is to rejuvenate the coconut sector in the state by linking entrepreneurs, innovators and farmers. Ideas and technologies are invited in resolving industry-level problems in different farm-level operations such as harvesting, procurement, processing, value addition, supply chain management and marketing.

The last date for submission of entries is August 19. Entries will be accepted at the link https://startupmission.kerala.gov.in/programs/ncc/. Top 10 entries will be announced on August 22. Presentations of top three entries will be held on September 6 and 7. These entries will get Rs one lakh in total and KSUM will provide scale-up grant up to Rs 7 lakh to them.  

Further, top 10 entries will get an opportunity to present their ideas in the Idea Day conducted by KSUM.

The best startups will get Rs 25 lakh in total seed support from the KSIDC. Top three will be given opportunity to present in the International Coconut Conference and Expo.