BENGALURU: Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday opened its dedicated branch for start-ups in Koramangala, and it plans to roll out two more - Gurugram and Hyderabad- in the next six months.
SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, who was here in Bengaluru to inaugurate the new branch said, they are opening the first branch in the start-up capital of India.
The Koramangala start-up branch has also entered into MoUs with the Karnataka government initiatives such as Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KEDEM) to support the entire start-up ecosystem in Karnataka.
The bank has provided debt to 104 start-ups so far aggregating to Rs 250 crore over the last 18 months.
SBI also has an equity allocation, and it has already invested Rs 5,000-6,000 crore in businesses including start-ups, fund of funds, and so on.
The dedicated branch will act as a hub and provide various services to start-ups starting from the formation of the entity till IPOs (Initial Public Offering) and FPOs (Follow-on Public Offers) of the companies. Apart from this, the branch will also have specialist teams for capital markets assisting in equity raise and registration facilities.
The branch will also cater to the requirements of the private equity, venture capital funds and the AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds).
SBI chairman said about 50% of start-ups in the country are supported through equity funding, which is a big market.
When asked about inflation, which was at 6.7% in July, Khara said it should come down and we have to wait and watch. "Supply side constraints are being addressed... The falling crude oil prices will also play a key role in bringing inflation down," he said.