 "Nasscom, Karnataka govt team up to set up Hack-Celerator, startup incubation facility")
The Karnataka government has partnered with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) to announce setting-up of a 50,000 sq ft GoK-Nasscom Start-Up Warehouse NextGen as a hub to nurture, mentor and fund innovative technology entrepreneurs.
It also launched India’s first Hack-Celerator, a unique combination of a Hackathon and an Accelerator, to be housed and integrated into this new warehouse facility with a capacity to seat 500 people.
The new GoK-Nasscom Start-Up Warehouse will be an integrated facility and will provide working space for startup companies to be housed for 6-12 month incubation tenure, co-working space for entrepreneurs to use on pay-per-use daily/weekly basis, a well-equipped community events space available for meet-ups and workshops, an IoT (Internet of Things) Lab, a Design Lab, Mobile Experiences Lab and an office space for visiting corporate executives and investors.
Once operational, this will be one of the largest multi-disciplinary technology incubation facilities in Asia and the largest across the top five metro cities of India.
Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, R. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Nasscom, and executive vice chairman, Cognizant India, said the organisation has always promoted entrepreneurship as a preferred career option and educated aspiring early stage entrepreneurs by supporting them.
“This collaboration with GoK is a great leap in this regard and will provide the requisite support to the start-ups and entrepreneurs at the right time in the right shape and form,” he said.
Applications for this new facility will be called for immediately and the facility is expected to become fully operational and ready for occupation by end-2014. The state government will contribute towards the facilities, while Nasscom will contribute to the full-time programme management. Nasscom will also constitute an advisory board for managing and governing the entire facility and activities at the centre.
Speaking on the occasion, Srivatsa Krishna, secretary to the state department of IT, biotechnology and science & technology, said the Hack-celerator is like a ‘mind lab’ where entrepreneurs can get access to infrastructure mentors and peers to test the feasibility of ideas.
“It will support ideas from pre start-up stage right till funding stage,” he said.