Hyderabad: Kakatiya Sandbox (KS), an ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in rural Telangana has tied up with Kanwal Rekhi, an iconic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, co-founder, Inventus Capital to promote and scale rural entrepreneurship programs in India.
Kanwal has committed ₹20 crores to seed KREST- the Kanwal Rekhi Rural Entrepreneurship and Startup Center. KREST will be a part of K-hub, a social innovation hub run by KS in Nizamabad to improve economic prosperity in North Telangana. The mission of KREST is to build a strong rural entrepreneurship ecosystem for entrepreneurs to test their ideas, build successful ventures and scale.
Kanwal’s donation hopes to energise KS to scale its programs across agriculture, skilling, startups, and micro-entrepreneurship by leveraging the large pool of talented youth in rural India.
Kanwal was the first Indo-American Founder & CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ. He co-founded and helped build TiE into the largest global network of entrepreneurs. Kanwal has been a great role model in entrepreneurship and philanthropy. He is also known as ‘The Entrepreneurship Pandit’.
Telangana IT and Industries minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) said, “I am confident that KREST will become a bustling center for innovation and entrepreneurship in Telangana. It is also well poised to become a gateway for entrepreneurs from the rest of India looking to solve the challenges of rural India. I am thrilled that Kanwal Rekhi has chosen Telangana to create KREST.”
The Kakatiya Sandbox (KS), founded by noted entrepreneurs Raju Reddy, and Phanindra Sama, is located in Nizamabad, Telangana.
