Startup TN plans 500 venture studios: CEO Sivarajah Ramanathan

Madurai: Startup TN is planning to set up 500 venture studios to train entrepreneurs on startups in the next three years, mission director and CEO, Sivarajah Ramanathan, said on Wednesday.Ramanathan launched the business studio by Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. The studio will facilitate youngsters and entrepreneurs on startups through programmes like mentorship, training courses, and pitch desks for funding. The focus areas will be IT and hitech, agriculture and food startups, manufacturing, infrastructure, fin-tech, and retail and e-commerce.Addressing the gathering, Ramanathan said that just 2% of people drive the world, and they are entrepreneurs. The developed countries have better percentages of entrepreneurs while India is catching up. He spoke on the need for youngsters to adapt to change and maintain a perennial curiosity to learn in this fast-moving world, especially when technology and artificial intelligence are developing very fast."A startup is about finding a requirement and coming up with innovative ideas to provide solutions by connecting the dots," he said, and explained how the food aggregation business started. He also explained to youngsters why Tamil Nadu is the best place for startups since the state has grown leaps and bounds in industrialisation with 38,000 more industries. The state peaks in all developmental parameters with the highest enrolment ratio and the highest number of NIRF-ranked educational institutions. "We will be regretting a decade later if we don't catch up with this conducive climate and scale up startups," he said.Chairman of the business studio, S P Varadarajan, said that there are stellar businesses, including listed companies and stalwarts of business in Madurai. They will be roped in to mentor the entrepreneurs. Besides, the studio will provide co-working space, networking, and funding for the startups.Chamber president, N Jegatheesan, explained how the trade body is supporting different platforms to promote trade and industry in the city.