Following the setup of an R&D centre in the small town of Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu, leading B2B SaaS company, Zoho Corporation, inaugurated its new centre yesterday in the rural town of Kottarakkara in Kerala. The new R&D centre is located inside Kottarakkara Engineering College and was inaugurated by the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan in the presence of founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation Sridhar Vembu, co-founder Tony Thomas, along with the finance and higher education minister of Kerala.  

Source: X

Zoho Corp. partnered with the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD) to set up the park that aims to leverage local talent by training them in cutting edge technologies. It is the State’s first campus industrial park and R&D centre in Kottarakara. The 3500 sq. ft. park is said to train over 5000 people over the next five years. 

Rural Vision 

With an aim to slowly move away from Tier 1 cities, Vembu has been actively working on his vision of bringing opportunities and development in rural areas– taking opportunities closer to where the talent is. 

Discussing the works of setting up R&D Centres in small towns, last year,Vembu had spoken about Kottarakara, where he believed that over 50% of R&D centres could be set up. “I have to look at how to positively create jobs, moving skills and capabilities, and ensuring that we retain our talent, because there is a lot of pressure in rural areas for talent to migrate away,”

In an earlier exclusive interview with AIM, Vembu had also expressed his fondness for the sacred sweet offered in Kottarakara Ganapathi temple.  

Unicorn company, Zoho, is the first bootstrapped company in the world to cross 100 million users. The company now serves over 700K businesses across 150 countries.