NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, on Wednesday made a case for domestic businesses to dedicate a certain portion of their wealth to fund Indian startups.
He said that businesses could mentor few startups and help them overcome initial difficulties being faced by budding entrepreneurs.
"I always believe that our Indian business persons should dedicate a portion of their wealth, a portion of their value to support Indian startups, particularly for the early-stage funding," the minister said at a webinar of TiEcon.
He suggested that business persons can come together and pool their resources, "may be an initial Rs 10,000 crore fund," which is domestically driven and professionally managed, with no role of government in it.
"I have often been complaining that particularly at the early stage of startups, we are not able to get adequate domestic capital," he added.
Goyal said that the strong growth of startups could transform India from a screwdriver economy to technology-driven economy.
Indian entrepreneurs, he said, have the capacity and the capability to create the next Google, Microsoft, and Intel.
"We can innovate in the fields of chip technology, design, fabrication, alternative energy, urban mobility, cybersecurity, and drones...these technologies will shape the future," he said.