KREST: A Rural Engine in Nizamabad
I was in Nizamabad last week when the new Kanwal Rekhi Rural Entrepreneurship and Startup Centre (KREST) opened its doors. Seeing a 10,000 sq. ft. facility built specifically for rural and semi‑urban founders made me pause — not because the architecture was novel, but because the intent finally matches the scale of the opportunity.
Kanwal Rekhi (kanwal@inventuscap.com) stood on stage and spoke about an idea that’s been gathering momentum for several years: talent exists across Bharat, and ecosystems must meet it where it is. The news was widely covered (for example, see Telangana Today and Deccan Chronicle)[^1][^2].
Why this matters to me
I write about entrepreneurship for a living, and I’ve long argued that India’s startup playbook must adapt to a different reality outside big metros. In earlier pieces I emphasized the gap between Silicon Valley templates and the livelihoods‑driven micro‑entrepreneurship that dominates most of India’s workforce[^3]. KREST — a vertical under Kakatiya Sandbox with co‑working labs, makerspaces, and incubation — is a practical answer to that critique.
When Kanwal Rekhi (kanwal@inventuscap.com) committed capital and a vision to Nizamabad, he wasn’t donating a building; he was signaling a systems change. The centre is designed to produce locally relevant solutions in agriculture, healthcare, education, and rural livelihoods — and to measure impact in livelihoods created, not just valuations.
What I noticed on the ground
- A pragmatic curriculum: workshops linked to immediate income streams, not abstract product‑market fit theory.
- Makers Lab and prototyping space: hardware meets agri‑tech pilots that can be tested in nearby villages.
- Mentorship blended with market access: local mentors and visitors from larger ecosystems to help scale promising pilots.
This combination — infrastructure, skilling, rapid prototyping, and mentor networks — mirrors proven rural models (think Deshpande‑style hubs) but with sharper targets: 10,000 student entrepreneurs and 500 startups by 2030, and even loftier scale targets toward 2047.
A few cautious reflections
I admire ambition, but rural ecosystems require patience and humility. Based on what I’ve seen and written before, here are three practical cautions:
Align incentives with small, repeatable revenue models. Urban VC milestones (months to scale, hypergrowth) don’t always translate to village economies. Kanwal Rekhi (kanwal@inventuscap.com) and his partners will need patient capital and patient metrics.
Invest in distribution and trust networks. For many rural founders, the hard part is not product design but distribution — getting buyers and payments sorted.
Policy and local government linkages matter. Building a makerspace is one thing; making procurement, certifications, and regulatory pathways work is another.
How this connects to things I’ve written before
I’ve argued that we must stop trying to paste Silicon Valley onto Bharat and instead design for the trades, micro‑firms, and services that actually create livelihoods in small towns[^3]. KREST feels like a step in that direction: it’s structured to help a street vendor scale a reliable micro business just as much as it helps an agri‑tech founder pilot an IoT sensor.
A simple test for success
If KREST, within three years, can demonstrate scaled, paid revenue for 50–100 micro‑enterprises that were previously informal and unstable, then it will have proven its thesis. If it becomes a template that other non‑metro hubs copy (resources, curriculum, local mentor pools), we’ll have moved from interesting experiment to systemic change.
Closing — a personal note
I left Nizamabad with renewed optimism. We have long debated policy and models; now we have a physical, funded, and networked experiment that aims to prove rural entrepreneurship at scale. I’ll be watching closely, and I’ll write more as the first cohorts graduate and the numbers come in.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh (hcp@recruitguru.com)
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[^1]: "Kanwal Rekhi opens KREST startup centre in Nizamabad," Telangana Today. https://telanganatoday.com/kanwal-rekhi-opens-krest-startup-centre-in-nizamabad
[^2]: "Start-Up Vertical Inaugurated In Nizamabad," Deccan Chronicle. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/southern-states/telangana/start-up-vertical-inaugurated-in-nizamabad-1929272
[^3]: My earlier reflections on why the Silicon Valley playbook doesn't map onto India and the need for rural infrastructure and livelihood‑driven entrepreneurship: https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/10/start-up-eco-systems-usa-vs-india.html and https://mylinkedinposting.blogspot.com/2024/11/we-need-more-infra-in-villages.html
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