In what could be the largest incubation centre in a tier 2 town in India, SR Group, which runs several educational institutes, announced the launch of SRiX (SR Innovation Exchange), a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) in Warangal, Telangana.
Located in SR Engineering College (SREC) campus in Warangal, this 1,00,000 square foot state-of-the-art technology Business Incubator is supported by Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Government of India to accelerate the startup eco-system.
The innovation centre was inaugurated by KT Rama Rao, IT Minister, Government of Telangana on Monday.
SRiX is open to start-ups from all over the country to nurture innovative ideas into successful companies, with a focus on agriculture, clean tech, IOT, hardware and related cutting-edge technologies. The centre is equipped with business-friendly workspaces, IOT Workshop, Prototyping facilities and a makers space.
“SRiX is probably the biggest in the state of Telangana and in a Tier II city. It is also the first Incubator center that hosts a Makers’ and Prototype space. This has been set up SR group, which won a grant from DST after competing against large institutions such as NIIT, JNTU, NIT Warangal,” KTR said.
Inviting students of the city to leverage this space to become job creators instead of job seekers, KTR also added that the government will extend its support and is ready to being the first customer.
While the total investment required to get SR Innovation Exchange up and running will be around Rs 14-15 crore, Rs 9 crore of this amount will be sanctioned by DST.
“We were enthused by the energy shown by this college and their plan of how they wish to incubate and promote startups through the incubation centre. The fact that we don’t have incubation centres in tier 2 towns also played a role. Apart from the grant, DST will provide financial and networking support. There will also be seed support of tranches of Rs 10 crore, which could go upto Rs 50 crore,” Harkesh Mittal, Head – innovation, entrepreneurship and tech commercialization, DST, GOI.
Sreedevi Devireddy, former executive director of TiE Hyderabad has been appointed as the CEO of SRiX.
Sreedevi Devireddy, CEO of SRiX with IT Minister KTR
To further boost its purpose, SRiX announced cooperation agreement with the newly formed Warangal Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE) and Kakatiya Angles. The formation of these two organisations was announced immediately after the inauguration of SRiX.
The Exchange will be backed by a real and virtual support system consisting of mentors, subject matter experts, investors and business service providers.
A Varada Reddy, Chairman of SR Group, said the initial focus at SRiX will be in the field of Agriculture, Manufacturing, Management of Energy, Water and Waste, inclusive growth cantered Rural Empowerment, Education, and Internet of Things.
In the first year, SriX will incubate 40 promising start-ups and help them create an impact. In the next five years, SRiX expects to add and create enormous high-value Businesses and Entrepreneurs.
The innovation centre already has eight startups being incubated. These are Dinely, Sanshodan E-Waste Exchange, Gram Thejus, VYOM IOT, Stumagz, Orange Tree Technologies and Robotries.
SRiX Board of Advisors includes Harkesh Mittal - Head -Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Tech. Commercialisation, DST, GOI, Ravi Tyaagi - MD & CEO, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, Dr. Sridhar Condoor – Chairman Aerospace & Mechanical Engg, St. Louis University, USA, Ashish Despande - Co-founder, Elephant Design and Ashwin Mehta – Faculty, University of Massachusetts.