BENGALURU: Karnataka has provided funding to 489 startups, with a committed amount totalling Rs 116.73 crore, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan said here at the awards ceremony of Elevate Unnati 2020, a social inclusion programme to promote startups from the SC/ST community. The DyCM said the state had given seed funding without taking any equity. This is done by the Social Welfare Department under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan/Tribal Sub-Plan scheme.
The programme is an Idea2PoC grant-in-aid seed funding programme for SC/ST startups with innovative ideas/ solutions, with up to Rs 50 lakh in funding support. This is the second edition of Elevate Unnati. “We have created a platform for startups in Tier 2 and 3 cities to pitch in their regions, resulting in 24% of winners. Special programmes have been crafted for Kalyan Karnataka region to help them compete with the larger ecosystem,” he explained.
Meanwhile, ‘Karnataka Digital Economy Mission’, which has the objective of facilitating and promoting more than 7,000 e-commerce, startups and other gig economies of the state, will be officially launched in February, said Narayan, who is also Minister for IT/BT and Science & Technology. Prashanth Prakash, Chairman, Vision Group for Startups, suggested that entrepreneurs share their stories with the community and focus on reinventing their ideas according to present trends.
Of 91 applicants, 19 startups were shortlisted and declared winners of Elevate Unnati 2020. In all, 14 startups were selected under the SC category and 5 startups under the ST category. Most of the winners are from Tier 2 and 3 cities.