BENGALURU: Karnataka has provided funding to 489 startups, with a committed amount totalling to ₹116.73 crore.
Dr Ashwathnarayan, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, speaking at the Awards Ceremony of Elevate Unnati 2020, a social inclusion programme to promote startup’s from SC/ST community, said the state had given seed funding without taking any equity. This is done by the Social Welfare Department under the SCSP/TSP scheme.
The programme is an Idea2PoC grant-in-aid seed funding program for SC:ST start ups with innovative ideas/solutions with up to ₹50 lakh funding support. This is the 2nd 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 per cent of winners in such regions. Special programs have been crafted out for the Kalyana Karnataka region to help them compete with the larger ecosystem,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the “Karnataka Digital Economy Mission” which has the objective of facilitating and promoting more than seven thousand e-commerce, start-ups, and other gig economies. They will be officially launched in the month of February, Deputy Chief Minister, who is also the minister for IT/BT and S&T, stated on Friday.
Recently, Bengaluru has been declared as the “Rapidly Growing Tech City” by the UK, and further, the state of Karnataka has been named as “Most Innovative State of the Country’ for the second time in a row by NITI Aayog. Entrepreneurs should make use of the existing ecosystem comprising of incubators, accelerators, centers of excellence, mentors, TBI’s, and academia to emerge as the champions of innovation, he wished.
Prashanth Prakash, Chairman, Vision Group for Startups, suggested that entrepreneurs should share their stories with the community and to focus to reinvent and rebuild their ideas according to the present developments and trends.
Dr E.V.Ramana Reddy, ACS, Department of Electronics, IT/BT, and S&T who made opening remarks said, “ElevateUnnati Grant funding scheme of Karnataka is the first of its kind in the country. Apart from funding, all ELEVATE startups are given high visibility and recognition by the Government," he informed.
Out of 91 applicants 19 startups were shortlisted and declared as winners of Elevate Unnati 2020.14 startups have been selected under the SC category and 05 startups under the ST category. Most of the winners are from tier 2 and 3 cities.