The B2G summit will aid startups to interact with government and PSUs to understand the latter’s requirements
An initiative aimed at bridging the gap between Kerala’s vibrant startup ecosystem and the government departments as well as organisations in order to create an avenue for leveraging the innovations of startups, will be set in motion with the country’s largest Business-to-Government (B2G) summit.
The B2G summit, christened ‘Public Procurement Summit 2022’, is a Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) initiative and will be held in the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram on April 26. The B2G summit is expected to set the stage for startups to interact with government and public sector undertakings (PSUs) and understand the latter’s requirements. The event will also provide a platform to startups to display their products.
Largest B2G summit for startups
The government departments and public sector undertakings will be able to present their requirements before the startups and procure the products and services from them. The summit will also pave the way for setting up Startup Innovation Zones in the government departments, which will be facilitated by KSUM. This will bring process or product innovation in the departments.
John M Thomas, CEO, KSUM, said the summit would introduce innovative solutions from startups that can be implemented in the government departments. “This is one of the largest B2G summits happening in the country. The event will create a platform for deeper engagement between startups and departments. Startups can showcase their innovative products and services that are useful for departments,” he added.
Pointing out that the event will be an opportunity for startups to build rapport with officials and representatives of the state government, he added that policy-level interventions and schemes will be announced and proposed at the summit.
Government as a Marketplace
The Kerala government has the ‘Government as a Marketplace’ scheme, which enables startups to sell their products to government departments. Through the summit, startups can also learn about the best startup procurement practices in India adopted by various state governments and PSUs,” he added.
Public procurement from startups has been formalized from the Kerala State IT Policy 2017, which mandates the state government to act as an early adopter for promising technology startups from Kerala. Startup products and services up to a ceiling of Rs 20 lakh can be directly procured and from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore can be procured through a limited tender among the startups.
The scheme has successfully facilitated completion of 135 procurements worth more than Rs 12 crore from startups. Startup India and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) have recognized the scheme as one of the best practices in the country and the same was showcased to various states.
