Kerala Startup Mission seeks solutions, product ideas to fight Covid-19

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the state government’s nodal agency fostering entrepreneurship, has invited product ideas and solutions from startups, students, innovators, non-government organisations (NGOs) and the community for its Break Corona initiative.  

The Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered organisation has sought solutions to support those infected and quarantined due to Covid-19, as well as to prevent further spread of the disease, it said in a statement.

Solutions to make and distribute temporary medical items or their substitutes, such as 3D printed face masks and open source oxygen concentrators; help with logistics to distribute food, medicines and groceries to homes with senior citizens and infants; create job opportunities during the lockdown; and arrest a community outbreak of Covid-19 are welcome, it said.

The KSUM will develop ideas that are approved by a team of experts from the respective domains.

It has partnered with The Indian Medical Association in Thiruvananthapuram and GTech, a collaboration of information technology and business process management organisations that work with the state government, for this initiative.

Founded in 2006, the KSUM is the central agency of the Kerala government that focuses on entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

Read: The future of Kerala is startups: Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission

Kerala was the first state in the country to report positive cases of Coronavirus. At present, a total of 112 people have tested positive for the disease in the state, four of whom have been cured. 

The number of known Covid-19 cases in India currently stands at 694. So far, at least ten people in the country have lost their lives to the pandemic.