Kerala Startup Mission signs agreement to support agri tech startups and farmers
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has inked a performance-based condition (PBC) agreement with agriculture department's KERA project to provide innovative solutions tailored to the needs of local farmers and agri-food enterprises.
Under this PBC agreement, KSUM will select 150 agri-tech startups across the state to address specific challenges. This is intended to benefit at least 40,000 farmers. KERA is a World Bank-funded project under investment project financing for the agriculture sector of the state.
The PBC framework represents an innovative, results-driven approach to funding allocation. In this model, funds or payments to the implementing agency are disbursed only after achieving predefined results.
KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika said that this performance-oriented strategy not only encourages optimal performance but also allows the implementing agency considerable autonomy in how to utilise funds to meet set targets. It promotes greater accountability by directing resources to frontline operations, enabling decision-making and strategic resource allocation based on real-time performance indicators.
Selected startups will receive a grant of Rs 25 lakh each. An initial grant of Rs 20 lakh will be allocated for product development (PBC1), which covers idea development (innovation/seed fund), research and development, product testing, technology commercialisation, production, scaling up existing facilities, working capital for business operations and other related activities.
The subsequent grant of Rs 5 lakh will support product adoption by end users (PBC2), addressing product demonstration, market testing, pilot product launch, sales and marketing and other related activities.
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