Kochi to become sister city of Silicon Valley’s Menlo Park

TechnoparkToday.com(Feb, 2015): Kerala’s IT aspirations are set to get a major leg up as the state’s technology startup hub gets ready to sign sister city agreement with the famed Menlo Park in California, USA, to facilitate mutually beneficial educational, cultural, social and economic exchanges.

Kochi, which is home to Startup Village, Infopark and the upcoming Smart City, will sign an MoU with the US city, establishing a year of cultural exchange during which they will create a framework to encourage interactions between their citizens.

Ms Catherine Carlton, the Mayor of Menlo Park, and two senior officials arrived in Kerala on Saturday on a six-day visit ahead of the signing of the agreement on February 11.

It will be the first twin city agreement between Menlo Park and any Indian city, and it aims to create a bridge between Silicon Valley and the emerging Silicon Coast in Kerala.

Home to internet giant Facebook, Menlo Park is at the heart of the Silicon Valley and the MoU is expected to propel Kerala’s fast-growing IT centres including Startup Village, India’s first PPP-model technology business incubator, to the global stage.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who will witness the signing of the MoU in Thiruvananthapuram, said the twinning is appropriate as well as timely. “Like Menlo Park for California, Kochi is a key financial and business centre that makes major contributions to the Kerala economy,” he said.

“More importantly for us, Menlo Park is home to global technology companies that our start-ups and young entrepreneurs look up to, and venture capitalists who can mentor and support them,” he said.

Over the last three years, the Kerala government has taken various measures to create ecosystem favouring entrepreneurship among youth and fostering a startup culture right from schools and colleges.

Among the initiatives are: student visits to Silicon Valley, the Young Entrepreneurs’ Summit organized by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the Technology Innovation Zone set up by the IT and Industries Department and the Kerala State Entrepreneur Development Mission (KSEDM) launched by the Kerala Financial Corporation.

Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar said his business incubator was looking for realisation of 10 sub-themes from the US delegation’s visit to Kerala. These include strides in the fields of education, finance, infrastructure, industrial development, knowledge-sharing, tourism, culture and social development.

“We also hope to reach out better to Malayalis in the Silicon Valley and faciliate local industrialists to hold business meets with the visiting delegation,” he added.

On February 9 evening, Ms Carlton and her team will visit Startup Village and Infopark. The same day, Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany will hold a council reception for them.

The US delegation will also visit the ongoing Kochi Muziris Biennale, interact with women’s NGO ‘Raising Our Voices’, meet Shri Madhavan Nambiar, Member, Board of Directors, KSIDC, and attend a presentation by Kochi Metro Rail Limited besides paying visits to Cochin University, Choice School, Government Girls High School and the Government Children’s Home in Kakkanad.

In the state capital, Ms Carlton and her team will on Wednesday (February 11) meet Shri Oommen Chandy, IT Minister Shri P K Kunhalikutty, Tourism Minister Shri A P Anilkumar, Chief Secretary Shri Jiji Thomson and IT Secretary Shri PH Kurian, before flying back the next day