C-CAMP, Karnataka Govt Partner to Support Agri-Tech Startups With 50 Lakh Investment

Recently Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) and the state Department of Agriculture joined forces with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP). The collaboration aimed at boosting Karnataka’s biotech startup community.

Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, the CEO of C-CAMP, shared his excitement about the Agri Grand Challenge II, an extension of the highly successful Agri Grand Challenge I. He said that this new chapter broadens its scope to encompass allied sectors such as dairy farming. With the backing of the Karnataka government, C-CAMP is gearing up to provide substantial investment support, amounting to Rs 50 lakh. Furthermore, they are extending a helping hand by offering invaluable support for field trials through their extensive network within the agricultural sciences ecosystem.

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Dr. Saiyed extends a warm invitation to agri-tech startups across the nation, encouraging them to actively participate in this transformative initiative. The journey began in 2018 with the establishment of the C-CAMP K-tech Agri Centre of Excellence, dedicated to addressing critical issues such as farmer suicides, climate change, and crop productivity enhancement. Among its notable initiatives is the Grand Challenge, calling for science-based solutions to tackle specific problems across agri and allied sectors.

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C-CAMP, in collaboration with the Department of IT & BT, previously launched the Karnataka Startup Advancement Program (K-SAP) BIO 50, aimed at giving Karnataka-based life sciences startups a global competitive edge. Phase I of K-SAP witnessed the acceleration of five cohorts comprising 50 startups, focusing on challenges in healthcare, agri-science, agri-technology, and environmental domains within social systems.

Looking ahead to Phase II, Dr. Saiyed outlined C-CAMP's commitment to providing scale-up support for startups in the early and mid (venture-funded) stages. The emphasis is on propelling these startups toward success and making a huge impact in the biotech and agri-tech sectors.

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