CHENNAI: HCLFoundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of HCLTech, has signed two agreements with the Tamil Nadu government to support entrepreneurship and strengthen vocational education in the state.
The foundation signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with StartupTN, an initiative under the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to support 100 startups through mentoring, incubation, and market linkages.
”StartupTN operates across 10 verticals and currently has over 10,000 registered startups. This partnership will help scale and strengthen the ecosystem,” said Sivarajah Ramanathan, CEO and Mission Director of StartupTN.
HCLFoundation also renewed a five-year collaboration with the Department of Employment and Training (DET), aimed at improving vocational training through curriculum upgrades, training programmes and the rollout of a mobile skill lab.
The foundation said the dual partnerships will help empower youth, expand access to skills and promote inclusive economic growth. “By supporting startups and vocational education, we aim to drive long-term development across Tamil Nadu,” said Dr Nidhi Pundhir, director of HCLFoundation.