Global focus: Coimbatore to host World Innovation Summit

Preparations are in full swing for the World Innovation Summit – 2025, scheduled to take place at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore on October 9 and 10 under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. As part of the run-up to the global event, the TNGSS Stakeholders’ Meet with industry, education, and trade institutions was held yesterday (25.09.2025) at the Residency Hotel, Coimbatore.
The review meeting was chaired by Hon’ble Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Tha.Mo. Anbarasan. Senior officials and stakeholders present included Atul Anand, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Department of MSME, Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar, IAS, District Collector of Coimbatore, Sivaguru Prabhakaran, IAS, Commissioner, Coimbatore Corporation, Prashanth, IAS, Assistant Collector (Training), Sivaraj Ramanathan, CEO, Startup Tamil Nadu, Shankar Vanavarayan, Chairman, Kumaraguru Group, Nandini Rangasamy, Chairman, Chandra Group, and Karthikeyan, Chairman, Codissia, along with a large gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, and principals of technical colleges.
At the meeting, Minister Tha.Mo. Anbarasan released the GSS APP, specially designed for the summit. The application provides complete details of participants, investors, seminar sessions, exhibition halls, and investor meetings. It also enables participants to connect with each other, explore business opportunities, and continue professional networking even after the two-day event concludes.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Tha.Mo. Anbarasan said the conference will bring together 264 participants from 39 countries, in addition to Indian startups, 10 Union Government departments, 10 State Government departments, and 15 Tamil Nadu departments working with startups. The summit will showcase 750 exhibition stalls at Codissia, more than 100 investor meetings, and over 315 events.
Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s progress in fostering innovation, the Minister pointed out that under the TANSEED scheme, Rs. 79.49 crore has been invested in 212 startups during the past four years. A special SC/ST Startup Fund has supported 43 companies. Sixty-eight companies that began with government investment have subsequently attracted external funding worth Rs. 554.49 crore, creating jobs for over 1,000 people. Through the TANFUND platform, which connects private investors with startups, additional investments worth Rs. 128.84 crore have been mobilized.
He further emphasized that entrepreneurship training has been extended widely to school and college students. Over the past four years, 470 new innovators have received scholarships totalling Rs. 12.10 crore, while 130 student teams winning at the state level were awarded Rs. 63.25 lakh. These measures, he said, are helping to build a strong culture of innovation in Tamil Nadu.
Later, addressing the World Innovation Summit Road Show at Ramakrishna Engineering College, Vatthamalaipalayam, the Minister said Tamil Nadu has topped the NITI Aayog’s Innovation Environment Index. He also shared that he had personally visited countries such as France and Germany to extend invitations to global startups.
Minister Tha.Mo. Anbarasan confirmed that 39 countries including England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand, Australia, Denmark, USA, Brazil, Singapore, Mauritius, Japan, and the UAE will participate in the World Innovation Summit. He assured that the Government of Tamil Nadu has taken every measure to ensure that the event will be a grand success at Codissia, Coimbatore.