Post-Unlock Contact Center Agents Are Under High Stress: Ozonetel Study

* Abandon rates have risen 200% since 2019: The State of Contact Centers Report 2022 uncovers contact center challenges and reiterates the need for an AI-based, omnichannel strategy

A study undertaken by Ozonetel, a leading omnichannel customer communication platform provider, has unveiled new insights pertaining to the contact center industry in 2022.

The study is an analysis of 22 million calls made on Ozonetel’s CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) platform by over 160,000 active agents in 2022. The report covers inbound and outbound contact center calls across E-commerce, Restaurants & Food Delivery, Insurance & Fintech, Banking, Healthcare & Pharma, Real Estate, and Logistics contact centers.

The analysis found that contact centers struggled this year to meet customer expectations: 

·       Callers had to wait longer: ‘Average Time in Queue’ is the amount of time callers wait in a call queue before they connect to a business representative. This is an important customer experience metric as the longer customers wait, the less satisfied they are likely to be. When compared across the same sectors, Ozonetel’s report reveals that, on an average, callers waited 56 seconds to get connected to an agent as opposed to 45 seconds in 2021.

INSIGHT: Queue times decrease when sufficient agents are available to answer calls. The spike in average queue times indicates that businesses either need to increase the number of agents or improve their efficiency—and consequently their availability—with features like single-click dispositions. Alternatively, contact centers could deflect calls to WhatsApp or other digital channels via their IVR. 

Agents must work longer to wrap calls: “Wrap time’ indicates how fast contact center agents can complete actions after a customer interaction and be available to attend the next call. This metric affects both queue time and agents’ productivity. The time taken for After Call Work increased from 40 seconds in 2021 to 46 seconds in 2022.

INSIGHT: In efficient contact centers, agents can tag calls with the correct disposition within a few seconds. When they are required to add more detailed notes or when they struggle to find the right disposition code, the Wrap Time increases. The average wrap time reported in 2019 was 25 seconds. This increase in Wrap Time either indicates an increase in agents’ post-call responsibilities or a failure to provide agents with disposition codes relevant to today’s customer queries.

Agents hustle to cope with the demand: ‘Average Agent Speed of Answer’ is the average time a contact center agent takes to answer inbound calls. This includes the duration for which the agent’s phone rings but does not include the time the caller spends in the IVR or waiting in a call queue. This metric has reduced to 7.7 seconds in 2022, as compared to 8 seconds in 2021.

INSIGHT: While agents spend more time on post-call work, the time they take to answer calls has decreased, indicating that they may have less idle time between calls.

The improvement in pickup time suggests that most contact centers are using an auto-answer feature to automatically connect calls to available agents without any downtime. However, this measure alone has not improved Average Queue Times sufficiently this year. Businesses may need to rethink their contact center strategy more holistically. They will need to invest in an AI-based, omnichannel self-service approach to reduce agent workloads and improve customer experience.

Average Talk Time remains consistent: ‘Average Talk Time’ indicates the time an agent spends talking to a caller. In 2022, this number is 3.7 minutes, which stands the same as in 2021.   

INSIGHT: In most sectors, we see that talk time was an average of 3.7 minutes. It is unlikely that conversations of this length could take place via digital channels reiterating the relevance of voice as an important support and consultative sales channel. However, the study did also note that transactional conversations have successfully moved to digital channels such as chat and WhatsApp. The coexistence of these findings underlines the need for an omnichannel, rather than a single-channel strategy for contact centers. 

Average Call Pickup Rate declines: In outbound calling, a lot of calls dial to busy lines or go unanswered. Average pickup rates inform us how many calls get connected to a contact. The average pickup rate this year saw a drastic decline, i.e., 39% as compared to 46% in 2021. However, in the restaurant & food delivery industry, 96% of calls connected to a prospect as compared to 54% in 2021.

INSIGHT: Low Average Call Pickup Rates suggest that prospects are unwilling to answer calls. The study noted that this was true for promotional calls from unknown phone numbers, the high connection rates within the restaurant, food delivery and e-commerce industry indicate that customers were happy to answer relevant, transactional calls and a verified business caller ID  can ensure higher customer attention and lower call rejection.  

Customer expectations are higher than ever: ‘Abandonment Rate’ tells us how many calls went unanswered by agents as callers disconnected while in the call queue. On an average, in 2022, 34% of calls were disconnected by the caller when in queue, compared to 29% in 2021. This shows a 200% increase since 2019 when an average of only 12% of calls were abandoned in queue.    

INSIGHT: This year, we have an increase in average queue time and consequently the abandonment rates are also higher. However, when compared year-on-year this study also observed a rise in customer impatience. In 2019, on an average, 82% of callers were willing to wait in a call queue for 79 seconds. This year, 34% of callers were unwilling to wait in a call queue even though queue times were lower (56 seconds).   

The study noted that a small percentage (3-5%) of these calls offered a self-service or callback option within the IVR. In such cases, call abandonment may not correlate to customer dissatisfaction, however, these best practices are not prevalent industry wide.

Customer calls are a valuable source of feedback and data, businesses need to offer shorter queue times to their customers if they wish to capture this data and resolve queries before it affects brand loyalty and reduces customer lifetime value.

The Vertical Report Card:   

2022 has turned out to be a challenging year for the contact center industry. Customers are fundamentally different post-Covid, and their expectations of brands have changed.

Sectors like restaurants, food delivery, and e-commerce have kept their service standards high whereas sectors like education have struggled to keep up. Here is a list of verticals that outperformed and struggled under different parameters.

Voice remains a critical channel for customer support and consultative sales, but this does not signal business as usual within the contact center industry,” remarked Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Ozonetel Chief Product Officer, “Customer expectations are clearly changing, and without an omnichannel, AI-based strategy, contact centers will find it difficult to meet their customer experience goals.”

About Ozonetel:

Ozonetel is an industry leader within the Customer Experience (CX) space, offering businesses a robust, omnichannel platform to manage end-to-end communication flows. Its AI-powered, full-stack platform has enabled over 2,500+ businesses to simplify, manage, and analyze interactions at every step of their customer communication and engagement journey. The platform helps enterprises to engage with customers at every touchpoint across voice, chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and other digital channels. It fully integrates with CRM and other business applications and offers a truly omnichannel experience for customers.

Accenture’s Q1 Results Read-Through: Steady Q1; Retains FY23 Guidance

Steady Q1 operating performance: Accenture’s (ACN’s) revenue rose by 5% YoY to USD15.7bn (15% in local currency or LC) in Q1. Revenues were ~USD150mn above the upper end of the guidance, after adjusting for forex. Management indicated that 10 of the 13 industries grew in double-digits and the remaining three in a high-single digit, in Q1. ACN continues to gain market-share (growing more than two times the market), driving performance in line with its guidance. Q1 also saw ACN posting double-digit growth in Song and very strong double-digit growth in Cloud, Industry X, and Security. Strategy and Consulting reported low single-digit growth, while Operations and Technology reported double-digit growth and strong double-digit growth, respectively. Consulting revenue grew ~1% YoY to USD8.4bn (10% in LC), while managed services/outsourcing revenue grew ~11% YoY to USD7.3bn (20% in LC). New bookings in Q1 stood at USD16.2bn (down ~3% YoY; book-to-bill: 1.0x). Consulting bookings stood at USD8.11bn (down ~14% YoY; book-to-bill: 1.0x) and managed services bookings also stood at USD8.11bn (~10% YoY; book-to-bill: 1.1x). Operating margin increased by 20bps YoY to 16.5% in Q1. Quarterly annualized voluntary attrition moderated to 13% in Q1 vs 20% QoQ. The company added 16,340 employees in Q1, taking the headcount to 737,719 (2.3% QoQ/9.4% YoY).

Double-digit growth across verticals and geographies: Growth in Q1 was driven by Resources (21% YoY in LC), Products (15%), Health & Public Services (15%), Financial Services (13%), and CMT (11%). Geography-wise, North America grew by 11% in LC, Europe by 17%, and Growth markets by 19%.

Retains FY23 guidance: ACN retained its revenue growth guidance of 8-11% in LC, in FY23 (organic growth: 5.5-8.5%). The guidance assumes a negative 5% (earlier, negative 6%) foreign exchange impact on USD revenue. Operating margin is expected to expand by 10-30bps to 15.3-15.5%. ACN expects Q2FY23 revenue at USD15.2-15.75bn, assuming the negative 5% foreign-exchange impact (6-10% YoY in LC). The company expects OCF and FCF to clock at USD8.5-9bn and USD7.7-8.2bn, respectively.

Earnings call takeaways: i) ACN expects consulting to grow in a high single-digit and managed services to grow in double-digits, in FY23. ii) The company believes that the current macro conditions are signaling to clients that they need to change more, not less. iii) The company indicated softness in demand in the retail, consumer goods and CMT segments. iv) Clients are seeking compressed transformation amid uncertainties, to achieve lower costs, more agility and greater resilience; thus, managed services have become increasingly important as companies are looking to move faster, for leveraging digital platforms and talent. v) Management expects a slight decline in Strategy & Consulting in Q2, due to less revenue from smaller deals and likelihood of growth recovering in H2. vi) Management highlighted that it is witnessing some delay in decision-making, pausing of smaller deals, and slower pace of spending. vii) ACN has signed deals worth >USD100mn with 24 clients in Q1 (vs 26 clients in Q4). viii) New bookings continue to see improved pricing and the company expects strong order booking in Q2. ix) Company invested USD686mn in acquisitions in Q1. x) FY23 revenue growth guidance assumes ~2.5% contribution from M&As.

Read-through for Indian IT peers: ACN’s Q1 operating performance was better than guidance, although the degree of outperformance was much lower compared with Q1 last year. Despite the Q1 beat, the company retained its revenue growth and margin guidance on the back of anticipated weakness in Q2. ACN expects growth to improve in H2, on account of expected revenue conversion from high-impact transformational deals. Management indicated that wage inflation remains higher, but uptick in pricing and moderation in attrition (seasonal factors and easing supply situation led to attrition returning to the pre-COVID Q1 range) should augur well for margins. Amid macro uncertainties, clients are turning cautious, leading to a slower pace of spending, delay in decision-making, and pause in smaller deals –this would constrain the near-term growth trajectory. Demand has clearly moderated due to macro weakness, but remains resilient; this should alleviate any concerns of sharp fall in demand. We prefer WPRO, TECHM, INFO, HCLT and TCS in the tier-1 space; and ZOMATO, MPHL, BSOFT, FSOL, and PSYS among mid-caps.

Wadhwani Foundation Announces The Appointment Of Meetul Patel As President-Wadhwani Entrepreneur

The Wadhwani Foundation today announced the appointment of Meetul Patel to the key position of President - Wadhwani Entrepreneur. Meetul will head the Wadhwani Foundation’s initiatives focused on building entrepreneurship ecosystems and accelerating the growth of small businesses. This is a strategic appointment in line with the Foundation’s growing global footprint across Asia, Africa and Latin America and is aimed at strengthening and scaling the Foundation’s mission of creating high-quality jobs and improving the lives of millions.

Meetul last served as Microsoft India’s lead for Strategic Growth, responsible for developing strategic partnerships and new platforms to bring the benefits of technology to previously unreached markets. Prior to this role, he served as Microsoft India’s COO and oversaw business and product planning, marketing, and sales operations for Microsoft’s India subsidiary. He was responsible for defining strategy, managing investments, and orchestrating the organization to ensure the growth of the transforming Microsoft portfolio across Enterprise, Public Sector, Small Business, Consumer, and Partner segments.

Expressing happiness on joining the Foundation, Meetul Patel, President, Wadhwani Entrepreneur at Wadhwani Foundation, said, “I am excited about working with the Wadhwani Foundation team to democratize access to the resources needed to spark entrepreneurship in students, enable entrepreneurs in their journey to build new ventures, and support established small businesses in their efforts to accelerate growth. And through their collective success, generate the jobs needed to help improve the lives of millions living on the edge of sustenance.”

Meetul’s appointment will further shore up the highly skilled and experienced global management team at the Foundation by bringing his experience in leveraging ecosystems, technology platforms, and global perspective to scale the Foundation’s initiatives.

Meetul Patel further added, “Despite the tremendous development we have seen around the world in the last few decades, a large proportion of families still struggle to maintain decent living standards. Achieving shared prosperity requires the creation of family-sustaining jobs for millions of job seekers across the Global South. Small businesses hold the greatest potential to create these jobs through their accelerated growth, and entrepreneurs hold the potential to develop innovative solutions to empower individuals and provide the affordable and sustainable products they need.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Enables Quality Education At Grassroot Level

• Sets up classroom at Government Pre-University College, Yellapura

• Initiative to benefit over 120 students with access to quality education

In line with its commitment to support the growing educational needs at grassroot level in rural areas, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) recently handed over a newly constructed classroom at the Government Pre-University College in Yellapura (Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka) to the college authorities. The new classroom, equipped with all the facilities, will ensure safer and conducive learning environment to over 120 students thus ensuring improvement in the standard of learning experience.

The occasion was graced by Mr. A Shivaram Hebbar, Hon’ble Labour Minister, Government of Karnataka along with Mr. Sudeep S Dalvi, Senior Vice President, Director, and Chief Communication Officer, and, Mr Roshan R. Deputy General Manager, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The Government Pre-University College has witnessed a steady increase in enrolments over the years. This had resulted in infrastructural challenges causing shortage of teaching space. Under its CSR umbrella, TKM volunteered to construct a new classroom to upgrade the existing classroom infrastructure.

Speaking at the event Mr. A Shivaram Hebbar, Hon’ble Labour Minister, Government of Karnataka, said, “Providing quality educational infrastructure in our country’s remotest areas not only fosters a better tomorrow, but also ensures the students have all the facilities for conducive learning environment. We are glad that Toyota has come forward to enhance the education system in the local communities through a holistic approach. We are confident that the students at Government Pre-University College Yellapura will now greatly benefit from this novel initiative by the company.”

Talking about the Initiative, Mr. Sudeep S Dalvi, Senior Vice President, Director, and Chief Communication Officer, TKM said, “As a responsible corporate citizen, it is our duty to ensure the development of rural education system, as it plays a crucial role in overall development of the nation. In line with this direction, we are happy to provide our support for the much need enhancement of classroom infrastructure of Government Pre-University College, Yellapura. We hope the new classroom will provide the additional teaching space and right learning environment to enable the students to achieve better learning outcomes. “

Since 2001, CSR has been an integral part of TKM’s philosophy. The voluntary initiatives taken up by TKM and our employees focus primarily on scalability and sustainability. The activities revolve around five main themes of Education, Environment, Hygiene, Health, Road Safety, and Skill Development.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, over the years, has initiated several projects to accelerate access to quality education in Karnataka. In total 11 schools have been constructed, along with other initiatives like education materials distribution, Anganwadi Development Program etc has cumulatively benefitted over 1,17,000 students and community members. Toyota remains committed to bringing in more enriching and sustainable CSR projects for the holistic development of the community members, thus effectively contributing to the underlying cause of positive societal development and bringing in a change towards the transformation of the larger community.

WION Welcomes Vikram Chandra As The Channel Takes India's Voice To The World

* 'This World' and 'The India Story' will begin airing on WION linear and digital from early January 2023 onwards

WION, World Is One – India's first and only international news channel and Vikram Chandra, founder of Editorji Technologies, are coming together to present two weekly news shows - 'The India Story' and 'This World' in the new year.

The marquee shows are scheduled for an early January 2023 launch on both WION linear and digital, fulfilling Zee Media's commitment to take India's voice to the wider world.

Explaining the partnership, Zee Media publisher Dr. Subhash Chandra said, "Vikram is arguably the only broadcast journalist who's managed to remain neutral, non-controversial and rise above the 'noise at nine.' That's a rare attribute in these polarised times. He is seen as fair and balanced across the opinion spectrum, which lends a high degree of credibility. People trust his views on a subject, a factor we will build on with these two shows."

The prime objective of the two high-voltage shows on WION presented by Vikram Chandra is to help the world understand major global events from a uniquely Indian perspective. That will be the theme of 'This World' that Vikram Chandra will host on WION, World Is One. To top it, WION's global footprint will provide enhanced reach to 'The India Story,' which has already been running on Editorji, as it seeks to be the definitive programme explaining India to a global audience.

Vikram Chandra said, "I have been away from TV news for several years now, building within Editorji the technologies that I feel can transform video news and information. I had no intention of returning to the noise and din of news programmes dominated by domestic politics. But WION is different. It is the only true international channel out of India – and it has tremendous reach across the world. I look forward to placing 'The India Story' on WION and working with their talented team to make 'This World' a "must-watch" weekly show on global events." 

Announcing the partnership, Madhu Soman, Chief Business Officer, WION, who joined the channel in August after a seven-year stint with Bloomberg in Hong Kong, said, "Believe it or not, we connected via LinkedIn a couple of months ago. Vikram didn't know me from Adam. Today, he's a friend and an ally in WION's journey, and I'm sure our partnership will make 'This World' sit up and take note of 'The India Story' as we seek solutions."

Two pedigreed professionals with no prior connection coming together organically is a testament to WION's commitment to the cause of neutral and non-controversial journalism. In addition, Vikram Chandra coming on board further strengthens WION's efforts to position India at the high table of global diplomacy.

"My conversations with Madhu were a breeze, and we are both clear that India, with its billion-plus population, needs its own voice in the world. That's where I felt WION offered a wonderful opportunity to bring the brightest minds together on our shows," added Vikram Chandra.

In addition to these two shows, the Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) and Editorji Technologies will collaborate on programmes for social transformation, combining Vikram's experience in programmes like 'The Greenathon,'  'Save Our Tigers' and 'Banega Swacch India'  together with the massive reach of Zee Media including WION, Zee News and India.com.

Apart from presenting shows like 'The Big Fight,' '9 o'clock News' and 'Gadget Guru,' he has also been successful in introducing pioneering innovations such as news on mobile phones, live streaming of videos, etc.

Vikram won the title of 'Global Leader for Tomorrow' by the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Indian Television Academy Award for 'Best Anchor for a Talk Show,' the Hero Honda Award for 'Best Anchor-person' and the Teacher's Achievement Award for Communication, along with featuring in the top 20 on the Impact list of the Digital Power 100.

About WION:

WION (World is One) is an English global news brand from Zee Media with a presence in over 190 countries. It focuses on delivering global news from an Indian perspective.

Website: www.WIONews.com

About Zee Media Corporation Ltd: ZMCL is one of India's leading media and entertainment companies with a strong presence in the news and regional entertainment genres with 13 news channels in 7 different languages, touching more than 528+ Million viewers through its linear and digital properties like Zeenews.com, dnaindia.com, india.com and others.

TrueMedix Launches National Reference Laboratory In Bengaluru

* The Bengaluru-based company has branches in all 36 districts of Karnataka

New-age medical diagnostics chain TrueMedix launched its operations with the inauguration of the company’s main branch office in Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, in the presence of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, Government of Karnataka, Dr K. Sudhakar, on 15 December 2022.

The inauguration officially signals TrueMedix’s beginnings as a National Reference Laboratory and drives the company into the spotlight amidst the medical diagnostics sector’s shift toward quicker testing and reporting methods driven by next-generation technology. TrueMedix aims to spearhead this trend as it works with various partners in the ecosystem, including clinics, micro labs, nursing homes, hospitals, medical colleges, research organizations, corporates, and NGOs. TrueMedix will provide patients with a comprehensive list of cost-efficient services that are always consistent and up to global standards.

As part of its launch, TrueMedix is offering the following special rates for applicable individuals*:

·      All Health packages are designed with a 70% discount.

·      Senior citizens get a 20% discount on every order.

·      All healthcare professionals, army and ex-army personnel, and auto, cab, truck, and bus drivers can avail 20% discount on every order.

To avail of these discounts, contact TrueMedix customer care at 080-55554468.

Founder and Managing Director of TrueMedix, Darshan D B, said, “Today marks a momentous day in our hopefully long and remarkable journey to revolutionize the Indian diagnostics sector. Our idea of transformation is built on the principle of making the best technology as accessible as possible, creating a more transparent and welcoming system that prioritizes care and world-class standards. We are grateful to be here and will keep pushing innovation in technology and patient experience on our way ahead.”

TrueMedix has 1 processing centre in Shimoga, and 40 collection centres in all 36 districts of Karnataka, and in other neighbouring districts of states like Kasaragod, Hosur, Hindupur, Anantapur, Solapur, and Kolhapur. The company already has plans to increase this number and envisions processing over 10 million annual tests and serving in excess of 10,000 laboratories and hospitals.

About TrueMedix

TrueMedix is established as a leading National Reference Laboratory, offering a range of cutting-edge diagnostics services for patients and healthcare partners. Based in the start-up capital of Bengaluru and with various centers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, TrueMedix was founded in 2022 to address diagnostic challenges and improve workflows through software-enabled solutions, providing better clinic-patient connectivity and faster sample processing. Besides clinical diagnostic services, TrueMedix will offer end-to-end solutions for clinical and diagnostic laboratory services, hospital laboratory management, central laboratory services, clinical trials, awareness drives, and more..

Fintech Unicorns Submit Fintech Report To Make Mangaluru Fintech Hub Of India

* Mangaluru To Be Fintech Hub And Karnataka To Produce 50 Fintech And 100 Soonicorns By 2030

* Karnataka to be USD 500 Billion Fintech market by 2030, 50% of India’s contribution in the sector

·       The 2nd edition of ‘Technovanza @ Mangalore’ showcased the port city as the cluster with the maximum potential and a destination for fintech and IT/ITeS companies

·       The in-person two-day conference welcomed industry leaders, academic leaders, policymakers, and the R&D and start-up communities, including 500+ delegates, 1000+ walkathon participants,200+ CEOs/CXOs, 25+ investors, 25+ startup showcases and the 2 country partners  of the Global Innovation Alliance

* Mangalore is currently home to over 150 IT companies aggregating an export revenue of more than INR 3000 crore per year

* KDEM aspires to bring in 8–10 new large IT companies generating INR 9,000 crore in export revenues per year by 2025

As part of its ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)—the organisation entrusted with enabling the state’s technological development—held the 2nd edition of Mangaluru Technovanza at the Dr TMA Pai International Convention Centre on 16 and 17 December, following similar events at Hubballi and Mysuru. The show hosted several ministers, industry peers, stakeholders, startups and companies that had descended upon the city to promote the region as an emerging start-up hub with a high potential for developing all types of Economic Growth Centres (EGCs) and creative industries. Notably, the event positioned Mangalore as the ideal fintech and IT/ITeS destination and was the stage for the launch of the vital ‘Fintech Task Group’ report.

·       Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka,  Shri Nalin Kumar Kateel, Lok Sabha Member, Dakshina Kannada, and Sh Vedvyas Kamath, MLA, Mangalore South,  Dr Bharath Shetty, MLA Mangalore North  were the guests for the event. The two-day conference comprised several events, including panel discussions, keynote addresses, fireside chats, a walkathon, CEO networking, and a start-up exhibition that addressed technology and entrepreneurship topics in the context of beyond-Bengaluru clusters. To add numbers of delegates, walkathon participants, start-ups, CEOs, and other attendees.  500+ delegates, 1000+ walkathon participants,200+ CEOs/CXOs, 25+ investors, 25+ startup showcases and the 2 country partners  of the Global Innovation Alliance. CoEs in AVGC, Fintech, Cybersecurity to come up in Mangaluru

Businesses leveraged Technovanza’s platform to display their products and services, while industry leaders shared insights into defining Mangalore as a thriving technological centre. Highlights of the event included:

Mangaluru Blue—an investor start-up pitch session held in association with TiE Bangalore. The meet saw 20 chosen start-ups from the cluster given complimentary showcase booths, with the top 10 pitching to the assembled investors. Finally, the winning start-ups received letters of intent from the investors.

The Women @ Work Conclave (W@W)—focused on how the Mangaluru ecosystem can fuel women’s participation in workforces and featured a W@W talk and a panel discussion on ‘Women in Entrepreneurship’ by women leaders in industry, academic, and social entrepreneurship circles.

CEO Round Table—presided over by Dr Ashwath Narayan, the session engaged essential industry leaders and anchors on the roadmap for the cluster and the ways to achieve tangible, long-term impact.

The Fintech Task Group presented and submitted the roadmap report to the government during this 2-day event. The aim is to make Karnataka the Global Fintech Hub. .

Walkathon—several participants, including the student community, gathered to promote the event’s vision and shed light on the Beyond Bengaluru mission through a 5-km walk led by Dr Ashwath Narayan.

Also in attendance were dignitaries from partners NASSCOM, ASSOCHAM, IESA, CII, Young Indians, CEOL, KCCI, TiE Bangalore, and EVOLVE.

Dr Ashwath Narayan C N, Hon’ble Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, spoke about the government’s digital ambitions, saying, “The country is poised to welcome a new era of the ‘Made in India Digital Product and Platform Revolution’ by making full use of our young workforce’s skills. We are innovating rapidly in areas like AI, automation, the Internet of Things, and blockchain and building globally recognised software products in efforts to be compliant with our data-driven, digital-first vision. To further enhance this objective, we need to improve our data management strategies and boost our focus on skilling and reskilling tech talent, especially in the up-and-coming clusters. To that extent, the government is committed to leveraging start-ups in these regions, aiding the talent ecosystem, providing policy benefit outreach to industries, and developing social infrastructure. We are setting up 3 CoEs in this cluster – AVGC, Fintech & Cybersecurity. We’ve identified Mangalore as a prime contributor towards the country’s tech aspirations and will wholly invest in the cluster’s people, ideas, and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Dr E. V. Ramana Reddy, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Dept of Electronics, IT BT S&T, Higher Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship & Dept of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka, discussed Mangalore’s growing economic stature and ongoing development plans: “Emerging clusters outside Bengaluru, like Mangalore, are exerting more significant influence; we expect a rise in their economic contributions to be around 17% by 2030. Primarily driving Mangalore’s share are the 150 IT companies aggregating an annual export revenue of over INR 3000 crore. The Mangalore Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), alongside the region’s high literacy, entrepreneurship, and low attrition, have been essential to attracting IT/ITES companies. Additionally, the government has undertaken efforts to accelerate the cluster’s growth in other areas. As part of marquee ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ projects, Govt of Karnataka with the support of KDEM has set up a cluster seed fund of INR 25 crore exclusively for start-ups in the Mangalore cluster. The organisation has also initiated cluster-specific funds under the Karnataka Accelerator Network that will lift start-ups and companies to be at par with global incubation and acceleration services standards. We have exciting ideas for the region and look forward to collaborating with our partners to achieve them.”

B.V. Naidu, Chairman of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, touched upon KDEM’s milestones and Technovanza’s outcomes: “KDEM is focused on developing Mangalore as an attractive trade destination. We have already established over 50 start-ups here through the ‘Beyond Bengaluru Start Up Grid’ initiative, extending legal, financial, marketing-branding, funding, and mentoring assistance to enable their growth. We are also working towards launching the Centre of Excellence in Fintech, which will be a milestone achievement in the region. With proactive industry participation, we expect to position Mangalore as a global fintech hub and connect with companies who want to take advantage of Mangalore’s dynamic environment. In this regard, Technovanza allowed us to assess our current growth, vocalise our plans for the region to the larger industry ecosystem, hear their feedback, and think about a way forward. This shared agenda will benefit our partners and us in identifying problems and solving them so that investors and businesses can easily be set up in Mangalore and strengthen the regional market.”

Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, added, “We’ve identified Mangalore with crucial innovation led by a flourishing talent base and increasing manufacturing and IT activity. Unsurprisingly, the city and its surrounding areas have all the markers of excellence required to sustain a long-term start-up culture. With the proper framework and ideas, we can streamline industries, personnel, and logistics under a joint ecosystem, allowing for comfortable partnerships across large conglomerates and promising start-ups equally. Along with clusters in Mysuru and Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi, Mangalore will lead the way in the state’s next phase of digital transformation and tech dominance.”

KDEM works with the Government of Karnataka and helps with its aims in the IT/BT and S&T sectors. The non-profit organisation acts as a link between the government and the various industry members, enabling talks and advising on technology through strategy, planning, and active discourse. KDEM has facilitated various technology proposals and continues to work towards prioritising Karnataka’s digital economy mission.

About Karnataka Digital Economy Mission

Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) is a Section 8 organisation designed to function as the knowledge bridge between the Government of Karnataka and the industry ecosystem to accelerate the development of the state’s IT, BT, and S&T sectors. Endeavouring to contribute US$300 billion to the prime minister’s vision of a US$1 trillion digital economy, KDEM plays a critical role in supporting technology investments, uncovering technology opportunities through research, structuring promotional efforts abroad, providing feedback on policy, and forming strategic roadmaps. The organisation’s ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ imitative seeks to maximise the economic potential of emerging cities/regions outside the state capital by enabling their organic growth and inviting investments for start-ups/enterprises. As a result, over 25 companies, including IBM and GlowTouch, have begun functioning in the Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi clusters, generating employment for more than 5,000 people. Additionally, in measures to create about 10,000 start-ups by 2030, KDEM is working on augmenting the start-up ecosystem in the existing and planned clusters through the ‘Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid’. The project facilitates access for upcoming start-ups with mentor groups across broad areas like HR, legal, R&D, accounting, and marketing/branding, with more than 300 start-ups already a part of the grid. KDEM, in association with industry partners, is also setting up funds of INR 75 crore for the three clusters to invest in promising tech-based start-ups.

KDEM is enabling future digital jobs across artificial intelligence and cyber security in Mysuru, Hubballi, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, and Belagavi, with 2,000+ opportunities. It is also spearheading innovation by implementing various specialised Centres of Excellence. KDEM regularly brings together the industry ecosystem through numerous large-scale events, connecting thousands of delegates and prominent speakers. Highlights of these discussions include the signing of multiple MoUs, expressions of interest in start-up investments, and over 500 business meetings. The ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ Investor Connect events specifically have successfully leveraged opportunities in cyber security, ESDM, and AI/VR for Mysuru, fintech for Mangaluru, and agritech, edtech, and Industry 4.0 for Hubballi – Dharward - Belagavi.

Photocaption: Minister Nalin Kumar Katil and Minister Ashwath Narayana along with other dignitaries inaugurating Mangaluru Technovanza 2022.