JOIN USThe UK India Business Council is opening its first startup zone at its UK India Business Centre in Bangalore in July.
The centre will comprise 12,500 sq ft and will be run by a dedicated, inhouse facilities management team as well as a team of market entry advisers in fields relevant to Bangalore’s status as a pioneering city for digital innovation, defence and aerospace, Richard Heald, Group CEO, UKIBC, said on Friday.
This is the second UK India Business Centre being opened as part of a UK government-backed, business-led pan-Indian network of business centres.
The centre will provide market entry support to startups and SMEs, and offer events, knowledge and policy insight into the market. It will also support UK companies with market entry advisory and facilities support, and be home for Bangalore-based early stage enterprises.
On the occasion of the announcement to open the startup zone, Ian Felton, British Deputy High Commissioner, Bangalore said, “Bangalore is one of the future faces of India — hi tech, cosmopolitan and global in outlook. It is a great place for British-Indian collaboration in science, innovation, trade and cultural relations.Working closely together we will add even greater value to the expanding UK-India trade relationship.”
The centre will host a Start-up Zone reflecting Koramangala area’s status as the ‘The New Startup Hub’ within Bangalore. Bangalore-based members of the UKIBC Advisory Council are Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chair and Managing Director of Biocon and T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education.
The UK government is engaged with Karnataka to work on initiatives such as co-funding UK start-ups with the KITVEN Fund (Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund), connecting UK and Indian innovative technology companies via IP Bridge and developing incubation linkage for entrepreneurs.