BENGALURU: Riding on Bengaluru’s formidable reputation of sending 40 per cent of Indian companies to the UK’s India Emerging 20 (IE20) — a business programme to spur startup expansion and growth — the UK has issued multiple incentive-driven schemes to attract investments from different regions in India.
Such schemes include the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), which provides tax relaxations as returns for investments in small and early stage startup businesses, and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which prompts the company to grow its business by obtaining funds from venture capital firms, said delegates of London and Partners, representatives of the Mayor of London, at a press briefing on Friday to discuss trade and investment relationship between the UK and India, and announce winners of the 2018 India Emerging 20 programme, an initiative by the Mayor of London to identify 20 of India’s fastest growing startups.
SEIS relief allows investors a claim of up to 78 per cent of their investment through tax in the first year. Investors can claim eligible investment against their tax bill. Research and Development tax credits scheme allows an investor to reclaim 32 per cent in development costs each year (includes staff and contractor costs). Ideal for startups which are heavily focussed on development and few paperwork as well, the delegates said.
The government provides startup loans of 25,000 pounds at a fixed interest rate of 6 per cent per annum for new business ideas which include mentoring and support services. This can be related to the scene in Bengaluru, where industrial experts clai, mentorship is very good. The UK has sought to welcome an investment of 30 billion pounds from global investors to bolster its economy after Brexit. The IE20 initiative, now in its third year, enables selected companies access to curated London business packages designed to ease expansion and integration into the London fold. Of 300 listed applications, 20 companies are declared winners. Companies from Bengaluru that have won include Chai Point and Ittisa Digital Media Services.
WINNING STARTUPS
Appnomic Systems, BiOZEEN, BlackPepper Technologies, Chai Point (Mountain Trail Foods), Happay, Intello Labs, Ittisa Digital Media Services, Senseforth, Chakr Innovation, Dineout /inResto, Fork Media, Lucideus Tech, Morph.ai, Videonetics Technology, Wigzo Technologies, Hug Innovations, FSM Education, Gaia Smart Cities, Iksula Services, SaffronStays