VBA launches business networking platform, eyes Rs 250cr investments

Kochi: Vijayee Bhava Alumni (VBA), an entrepreneurial association started in 2014, has launched VB Talks Business, a business networking platform targeting small and big entrepreneurs. VBA is an association of over 650 entrepreneurs who have attended more than 20 entrepreneurship development programmes organised by the K Chittilappilly Foundation and Varma & Varma since 2013.

The association used to organise Mukhamukham, an online business networking platform during the Covid pandemic to help instil confidence among its members. Through more than 125 such online meets, VBA could help generate businesses worth more than Rs 25 crore among its members. Later, VBA launched VBA Business Jalakam across the state which organised 8 meets across the state.

Sreedevi Kesavan, president, VBA, told a media conference in Kochi on Thursday that the enormous response received to such initiatives and the need of these challenging times made VBA to design a full-fledged business networking platform like VB Talks Business now, which wants to include its non-members as well. "Most of the available business networking platforms are for existing businesses while VB Talks Business will also help people to start up, pitch for funding, launch new products and other promotional materials," she said.

VB Talks Business also aims to help its participants go B2B by playing a bridge between big corporate customers and providing liasioning services to interact with various government departments. It also plans to offer training in matters related to marketing and technology.

Babu Jose, secretary, VBA said by FY 2023-24, around 100 VB Talks Business meetings are targeted at various places in Kerala, first of which will be held in Kochi on July 26, 2022 at Hotel Olive Downtown. Then in August itself, such meets will be organised in Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. He also said VB Talks Business targets Rs.100 crores worth of businesses through its first two years of business networking meets, striving to add at least 1500 new participants among its beneficiaries every year on the way ahead. VB Talks Business will also work for attracting more than Rs.250 crores of investments for its participants' projects from individual investors and angel investing funds. In the first phase itself, chapters of VB Talks Business will be opened outside Kerala and overseas, at least 10 such chapters in two years, he said.

Pareemon N B, Team Leader, Business Growth Acceleration, VBA, said to monitor and encourage the transactions happening through VB Talks Business, VBA is also launching a web application called VB Live.