Atal Incubation Centre-Sri Krishnadevaraya University a hope for emerging entrepreneurs

Anantapur: The Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) in confederation with Sri Krishnadevaraya University (SKU) and supported by Niti Aayog, appears to be the hope of the unemployed graduates, who could launch start-up companies and set up employment generating business.

About 80 per cent of engineering graduates have no job avenues with hardly 10 per cent, the cream of the engineering graduates making it for jobs in IT sector and the remaining 80 per cent diverting from their careers are either doing odd jobs or remaining unemployed.

The AIC, the only centre sanctioned and operating in SKU campus in the state, is now the hope of prospective entrepreneurs, who can launch business ventures and start-up companies. The incubation centre provides seed capital, venture capital, mentors, technology and marketing support badly needed for start-up companies to make their dreams a reality.

As part of the efforts to connect the AIC with the prospective entrepreneurs, a one-day boot camp dubbed as ‘Rising Rayalaseema’ was organised bringing the stake holders together for an educative and interactive session. Giridhar Gadhiraju, CEO of Venusgeo Solutions, a resource person of AIC told ‘The Hans India’ that the AIC will prove to be a boon to all those who have the passion to emerge as job givers instead of remaining as job seekers. He said that handholding will be given to those who dare to tread on rough paths and to achieve the impossible.

Unless engineering graduates dare to come out of their comfort zone of job seeking mentality, the rising unemployment problem cannot be addressed. He stated that a tiny country of Israel as small as Anantapur district in geographical area is spending Rs 24,000 crore every year on establishing incubation centres to train upcoming industrialists.

Pawan Kumar, Director of the Diabetic Food International while interacting with ‘The Hans India’ stated that there are huge opportunities in Rayalaseema for launching start-up companies based on locally available agriculture and horticulture products, including mango, papaya, tomato, banana, pomegranate and groundnut.

For the start-up companies, the locally available fruit and vegetables export could be a huge export market. A host of opportunities are available for those who think big and beyond themselves. He assured that his company would give necessary support to anyone who could play a role in the marketing of the products.

Harsha Yadav, CEO of Zolt Energies, who is running a consultancy firm for 150 solar power companies told ‘The Hans India’ that there are immense opportunities for the youth and old in the field of engineering, installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance and assembling of new solar plants.

He said that one should not bury his head in sand and become pessimistic as a world of opportunities exist in the emerging solar energy tapping field. Tens of entrepreneurs benefited by the boot camp left energised and empowered due to the AIC-SKU initiative. Prof K Nagabhushanarao, SKU, coordinated the boot camp.

By Ravi P Benjamin