News

An alum three times over, founding manager of PCPC, and one-time professor of information systems, Ram Raju is about to make his mark on Dalhousie University even greater. His company, Kivuto Solutions Inc., has committed $50,000 over three years, as part of the Bold Ambitions Campaign, to establish the Kivuto Solutions IT Entrepreneurship Fund.

“Many brilliant ideas never see the light of day due to a lack of entrepreneurial know-how. By supporting IT entrepreneurship at Dalhousie University, Kivuto Solutions Inc. is investing in the future of our industry in Canada,” said Raju. He adds that this fund will support Innovacorp’s mandate, which is to bring Atlantic Canadian IT companies to market.

The Kivuto Solutions IT Entrepreneurship Fund will enable student-led IT startups to access seed funding. The funding will be used as development money for early-stage prototypes and customer development for student teams, primarily those taking part in the Starting Lean course.

“The Faculty of Computer Science and the Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Rowe School of Business are making a concerted effort to increase the number of Computer Science students participating in entrepreneurship programs. As these numbers continue to rise, the need for seed funding for these startups will also increase. While we anticipate that the majority of student-led teams will be part of the Starting Lean course, this is not a prerequisite for funding. This fund will allow all IT-focused student teams, regardless of financial means, to build prototypes and engage in customer development,” said Mike Shepherd, Dean, Faculty of Computer Science.

“Dalhousie’s Faculty of Computer Science and our Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship, along with key private sector partners, including Kivuto, have laid the foundation for a leap forward in moving IT projects off the lab bench to market,” said Peggy Cunningham, Dean, Faculty of Management.

Aside from financial support, there are a number of opportunities for representatives of Kivuto to both impact and inform students, as well as gain access to budding IT companies by judging, mentoring and/or advising student teams.

 “There is an unprecedented opportunity in Atlantic Canada to take a leadership role in shaping the way IT knowledge is mobilized in the academic environment and brought to market. Fulfilling this role will build capacity and robustness for the ‘innovation ecosystem’—a network of businesses, academia, government and community organizations aligned to the common purpose of innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Raju.

Founded in 1997, Kivuto Solutions Inc. distributes over 25 million software titles to 194 countries in 15 languages. Its president and founder, Ram Raju, has over 25 years of experience in the software license management industry. Ram spent 12 years at Dalhousie as an adjunct professor of information systems, manager of the university computer store and vice president at the Canadian Association of Campus Computer Stores. He leveraged his experience in teaching, software distribution and software publisher negotiations to pioneer a global, multi-lingual digital content management system. He is also on the board of directors for Telefilm Canada, a crown corporation, as well as SimplyCast.com, a leading online multi-channel marketing solution. Ram has three degrees from Dalhousie University: a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration.