As a marine engineer and shipbuilder, Jithu Sukumaran Nair had travelled to different parts of the world. But when he decided to shift his career and plunge into the entrepreneurial waters, he had a lofty goal in his mind — to build a brand from India and go globally.
That's how the Kochi native launched VAAN Electric Moto, an electric bike manufacturing startup, which has been gradually finding its own space in the ever-growing e-vehicle market.
It was his stay in the Chinese city of Shenzen that inspired him to venture into the electric-vehicle sector.
"Shenzen is the first city in the world to have fully electric public transport. I lived there from 2013-end to 2020," Nair remembers the origin of his entrepreneurial ambitions.
He calls VAAN Moto an eco-conscious project. It was founded in 2017 with e-bikes, e-scooters, apparel and accessories.
VAAN Moto has tied up with leading players in the e-vehicle segment, including Benelli of Italy and Kiska of KTM from Austria. While VAAN Moto designs these electric bicycles, Benelli supplies components, and Kiska helps with the branding.
Nair will be sharing his story and views at Techspectations 2023, the fifth edition of Manorama Online's flagship digital summit.
During his stint as a marine engineer and shipbuilder, Nair lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for over 10 years. He was previously the general manager of Shipbuilding & Design at Ultra Deep Subsea of Singapore. Ultra Deep is engaged in subsea diving and the construction of Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles (ROV).
In this role, he developed the concept design for state-of-the-art high-tech diving subsea construction vessels with partners such as Marin Teknikk, Salt Design, Rolls-Royce, ABB, Kongsberg, and Wartsila.
He also has extensive negotiation experience with commercial shipyards and other manufacturers and previously held leadership positions with Singapore-based Kreuz Subsea and Seaways International, which is now Kotug.
He also served as the chief advisor and chief consultant to Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, which is under the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, for two years since October 2020.
Techspectations 2023
The fifth edition of the Techspectations will be held at Le Meridien hotel in Kochi on February 17. The theme of the marquee digital summit will be “Manorama@25: Absorb, Evolve, Thrive in the Digital Order” as it coincides with the 25th anniversary of Manorama Online.
Top tech experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders will participate in Techspectations 2023. The event will dwell on the infinite potential of the digital world and related topics.
Log on to https://www.techspectations.com for more details and to book your seats.