Karnataka Government to Fast-track 100 Start-ups

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Karnataka government is set to launch a programme to select 100 innovative Start-ups that are most likely to scale fast and profitably, and help them in their progress.

The selected Start-ups will be eligible to get guidance, consultancy, patent filing facilitation, legal assistance and funding, according to Sri Priyank Kharge, Hon’ble Minister for IT, BT and Tourism.

Lauding the initiative taken by the Government, Sri R. Krishnamurthy, President, PIA said that this will ensure the scaling up of the selected Start-ups and small enterprises to the next level.

He also hailed the selection process mooted as the Start-ups identified would be across various sectors like agriculture, biotech, gaming, etc.

For the programme, called Elevate, the Government is working with industry bodies including Nasscom, TiE, IAMAI, and Deshpande Foundation to set up committees to evaluate the Start-ups. “Earlier, things were done in an ad hoc way, there was no mechanism that worked consistently,” Sri Kharge told media persons and added that auditing firms Ernst & Young and PwC are advising the Government pro bono to set up processes and procedures.

The selected Start-ups will be given funds from one of the Government’s programmes including Idea2PoC Fund, Karsemven Fund (semi-conductor), Kitven Fund (bio-technology), AVGC Fund (animation and gaming), women entrepreneurs’ fund, and tourism fund. The total corpus for the Start-ups will be almost Rs. 2,500 crore. Some of these will be grants and some venture funds.

The Government under various programmes has already disbursed Rs. 17 crore to 51 Start-ups.The Government is working with SIDBI to establish a Rs. 200-crore venture fund to support Start-ups and small enterprises.

The Government is also working with venture capital firms to raise a Rs. 100 crore debt fund and another fund-of-funds, where the Government will invest in a portfolio of funds.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]