Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021 kicks off with Mangaluru Technovanza

With upcoming Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021, the Government of Karnataka and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) under Beyond Bengaluru initiative in the city of Mangaluru launched a big event called ‘Mangaluru Technovanza’. The program is aimed at enhancing growth in the IT /ITeS, Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO), Electronic System Design Manufacturing (ESDM), and Telecom sector industries located in emerging technology clusters in Tier II & III cities across the State. ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ is an initiative of KDEM and the Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka. Earlier this month, the first ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ conclave was held in the cities of Hubbali and Mysuru.

The Beyond Bengaluru Event was inaugurated today in Mangaluru with a host of dignitaries such as Hon’ble Minister Ms. Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon. Minister Electronics, IT, Bt, and S&T, and Minister for Higher Education, Skill Development; Sri Mohandas Pai, Co-Founder and Chairman at Aarin Capital;  Sri Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of Vision Group on Information Technology; Sri. Prashanth Prakash, Chairman, Startup Vision Group, GOK and Partner at Accel; Mr. Praveen Kumar Kalbhavi, Co-Founder, Managing Director, Novigo Solutions Private Limited; Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, MD & CEO, Lahari; Dr. E. V. Ramana Reddy, ACS Dept. of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T; Sri. B.V. Naidu, Chairman, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission; Mr. Prashanth Shenoy, Director, Mangalore Infotech Solutions; Sri. Biren Ghose, Country Head, Technicolor India; Mr. Harshil Mathur, CEO RazorPay; Mr. Rohith Bhat, CEO & Founder, Robosoft and K S Viswanathan, Vice President, NASSCOM.  

Bengaluru in the last two decades has emerged as the most preferred destination for investments by leading Indian and global multinationals. The Beyond Bengaluru initiative of KDEM will contribute to Government of Karnataka’s existing efforts to move the technology and innovation related activity to the cities beyond Bengaluru. The Government of Karnataka has already taken a number of steps and rolled out several initiatives aimed at enhancing the ecosystem in these cities, leading to an increase in demand from IT/GCC/ESDM companies for workforce in Tier II & III cities.

In India, 30% of the overall GDP is driven by the digital economy.  With the aim to attract at least 100 GCCs by 2025, KDEM announced Mangaluru as ‘A Strategic IT Destination’ at Mangaluru Technovanza held in the city. This initiative of the Beyond Bengaluru mission of KDEM, will focus on attracting and setting aspirational goals for GCCs as well as hosting IT companies. It aims at creating employment opportunities for 10,00,000 (direct and indirect) candidates by 2026. The Beyond Bengaluru initiative aims to attract and host 5000 IT companies and start-ups by 2026 in the Mangaluru, Mysuru and Hubbali clusters.  

Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister Electronics, IT, Bt, and S&T, and Minister for Higher Education, Skill Development inaugurated the KDEM Mangaluru office at COEL and announced the launch of FutureDigitalJobs@Mangaluru with 1000 positions in partnership with FUEL and Talential Global for fresh Engg graduates to get jibs in good companies. Speaking at the event, he said, “Through this initiative, new engineering graduates in tier 2 and tier 3 cities will have the opportunity build successful careers. Candidates selected through this initiative in the Mangaluru Cluster will also be provided launch pad training, specific to the job roles. KDEM office will facilitatae all companies to expand their businesses and work with Govt to provide all necessary support. As a part of the initiative to develop ‘Mangalore: An emerging Tech Cluster’ , select companies have been recognized and MoUs have been signed between KDEM and Shayadri, CEOL, IFSCA, Sapientury, and Gigvista.”

Speaking at the Inaugural program Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary- Department of Electronics, IT-BT & S&T said, “KDEM has shown that a strong partnership can be developed between Industry and government and both will work hand in hand to resolve the issues, built digital infrastructure and grow digital economy. Early results are coming where we have offices in Mysore, Hubballi and now in Mangalore. Our aspiration to create employment opportunities for 10,00,000 (direct and indirect) candidates by 2026 is possible. Further, the Beyond Bengaluru initiative is a harbinger to ushering dividends from IT, ITES, BPM & Electronics sector along with employment creation in tier 2 & 3 cities of Karnataka”

B.V. Naidu, Chairman Karnataka Digital Economy Mission addressing the gathering explained that last two decades, Off-shore strategy has helped many GCC to come and create their off-shore Hubs in Bangalore.  Now the time has come for these hubs to be supported by ‘Emerging Tech Clusters’ and create their spokes at locations beyond Bengaluru such as Mangaluru, Hubli and Mysuru. This strategy will help IT companies and GCCs expand to these emerging clusters where the Talent is available. KDEM will help in creating such a transformation. 

Mangaluru being a preferred destination for businesses across several industry verticals will play a key role in the digital transformation and development in the state. As a part of the event, Mohandas Pai, Co-Founder and Chairman at Aarin Capital highlighted the potential of Mangaluru for the Tech Industry in the New Normal, as a driving force for the future digital economy and businesses in India.

The event included two engaging fireside chats on Technology and Design.  The one by Mr Sanjeev Gupta with Sri. Biren Ghose, Country Head, Technicolor India and Sri. Sandeep Kamalasanan, Managing Partner, Unit9 explored the topic of Future Tech in AVGC. The second Fireside chat between Sri. Krishnamoorthy K, CEO, IESA with Sri. Vinay Shenoy, Managing Director, Infineon Technologies focused on Design house under Beyond Bengaluru initiative what next?

Further, the event also included a series of panel discussions by industry heads – Mangaluru as “The FinTech Hub”; Remote, Return or Reinvent: Defining the Next Hybrid Engagement Models; Reskilling or Upskilling workforce – Role of Technology in Education; and Startups – Son of Soil /Entrepreneurship Development @ Mangaluru focused on the future of cluster cities and technological changes in business across sectors, promising a level-playing field in new business opportunities and investments for cities like Mangaluru. 

Industry experts who presided the event shared their views on areas of technological interest like Fin-Tech, EdTech, Agri-tech, artificial Intelligence, and the concept of Industry 4.0. The first event in this series ‘Impact & Innovation @ Hubli’ successfully concluded on October 5, 2021 at Hubli with the inaugural address by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sh. Basavraj Bommai. The second event ‘The Big Tech Show’ @ Mysuru was a success, held on October 25, 2021, before culminating into the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS 2021) event, scheduled for 17th to 19th November.

The Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021 is scheduled to be held in its virtual avatar between November 17 and 19th, 2021 with its central theme “Driving the Next”. BTS 2021 will witness the coming together of Global Leaders, Indian Corporate, R&D and Start-Ups from IT, Deeptech and Biotech deciphering the future, showcasing next-gen technologies, forging partnerships and alliances. 

Details of the Panel Discussions

• Mangaluru as “The FinTech Hub” was addressed by Mr. Harshil Mathur, CEO, RazorPay with key panellists such as Mr. Miten Sampath, Founder, Cred; Mr. Anup Pai, CEO, e-Samudaay; Mahabaleshwar Bhat , MD & CEO, Karnataka Bank; Mr Joseph Joshy, CFO, IFSCA, GOI; and Timmana Gouda, Founder, Managing Director, Whatsloan. The panel was moderated by Mr. Ananth Pandit, Director at Gana Yantrika Enterprises Pvt Ltd.  
• Remote, Return or Reinvent: Defining the Next Hybrid Engagement Models was addressed by Mr. Rohith Bhat, CEO & Founder, Robosoft with panellists such as Mr Parminder, Head of Policy, Wipro; Mr. Prashant Mishra, IAS, Managing Director, MESCOM; Mr Jose Jacob Kalayil, Chairman, Indo American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka; and Ms Shuchika Sahay, Chief HR Officer, Firstsource. The panel was moderated by Mr. Praveen Kumar Kalbhavi Co-Founder, Managing Director, Novigo Solutions Private Limited 
• Reskilling or Upskilling workforce – Role of Technology in Education exploring the role of Digital Education in creating a Future-Ready Workforce was addressed by K S Viswanathan, Vice President, NASSCOM. The panellists included Mr Rupesh Tripathi, Partner and Head of People at KPMG Global Services; Mr. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education; Mr. Abhimanyu Saxena, Founder Scaler Academy; Mr. Anilesh Seth, Co-founder and CEO, GigVistas; and Mr. Vinesh Menon, CEO, Ampersand Group. The panel was moderated by Mr. Johnson Tellis, CEO Technical Career Education.

Startups – Son of Soil / Entrepreneurship Development @ Mangaluru was closest to home that celebrated and spoke about the successful start-ups that Mangaluru has offered to the state and the industry. The panellists included Mr. Rohith Bhat, CEO, 99Games; Mr. Subodh Shetty, CEO, Prasanna Technologies; Mr. Suyog Shetty, CEO Niveus Solutions; Mr. Dikshith Rai, CEO CodeCraft Technologies; and Mr.Venkatesh P V, Director, Brevera Technologies. The session was moderated by Mr. Iqbal Mohammad, Founder MD Semnox Solutions.