The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin handed over Rs. 1.25 crore TANSEED Grant and launched a unique 'Mentor Portal'.
Chennai: The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin launched various initiatives to benefit startups through the Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN) on December 30 as part of the Government's initiatives to make the State an innovation-driven economy.
In the event held at the Chief Minister’s chamber, M K Stalin launched special packages of assistance for Green Tech, Rural Impact and Women-led startups, considering the larger public interest they serve.
The G.O. issued to announce the special packages states that the assistance includes funds earmarked for them in StartupTN’s flagship grant initiative, Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED). It also announces a 50 percent increase in the grant for the startups mentioned in the special categories, thereby rewarding them with Rs.15 lakh from the current Rs.10 lakh.
The grant will be disbursed in three equal instalments of Rs. 5 lakh each, subject to the fulfilment of the milestones as agreed. In addition to the above, the package includes earmarking 25 percent of the total TANSEED assistance for Women-led Startups and 10 percent of the same for Rural Impact Startups. Eligible Startups will also be provided higher amounts of seed funds as equity or convertible debentures from the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund Scheme through an accelerated application processing window.
The slew of announcements in the package not only includes financial assistance and benefits but also support through structured acceleration for scaling up. Exclusive co-working spaces will be made available in State-supported incubation centres for Women-led Startups. These facilities shall be available free of rent and membership fee for the first year (upto Rs. 2 lakh). Special entrepreneurship training programme, special women mentorship programme and a portal integrating Startup ecosystem enablers are among the benefits in store for women-led Startups.
An annual acceleration programme for Women-led Startups and FemTech Startups and focussed Angel Investor circles under the Tamil Angels platform are among the other key assistance under the package. To avail these first-of-its-kind benefits, the startups should be owned by women or co-founded by a group of women having a minimum equity of 75 percent in the enterprise.
Commercially viable infrastructure projects that promote sustainability and circularity will be funded through the Green Climate Fund. StartupTN will set up a Government Procurement Facilitation Desk for eligible Startups in Chennai and the Regional Startup Hub in Madurai. The desks will facilitate testing and use of products in Government and public agencies, including local bodies.
An exclusive annual acceleration programme free of cost every year for 20 eligible Startups, an exclusive annual event to showcase climate action Startups and to connect with growth enablers, exposure to global best practices by partnering with global accelerators and visits to international summits and trade expos are among the assistance extended to Startups in the Green Tech space.
Rural Impact Startups will get piloting opportunities to test their products and processes in Government departments and Corporates to establish their proof of concept. Exclusive annual hackathons to solve rural problems, mentorship and market access through the Rural Enterprise Ecosystem Development Project will also be provided to Rural Impact Startups.
The Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED), the flagship initiative of StartupTN, was launched by the Government of Tamil Nadu to support early stage Startups with a seed grant of up to Rs. 10 lakh each. 60 Startups have received the grant and have benefited in three editions of TANSEED thus far.
Launched on July 22, 2022, the 4th edition of TANSEED attracted a total of 1,029 applications from Startups till August 31. They were shortlisted in a multi-stage screening process. The TN Chief Minister, M K Stalin handed over cheques for the first tranche of Rs. 5 lakh each to the first batch of 25 Startups, totalling Rs. 1.25 crores. The second tranche of Rs. 5 lakh each will be handed over to them after they reach the milestones set for them.
The 25 Startups that were awarded the grant belonged to the three special categories - Green Tech, Rural Impact and Women-led Startups - mentioned in the G.O. that was also launched on Friday. A total of 7 Green Tech Startups, 8 Rural Impact Startups and 10 Women-led Startups received the grant.
The awardees said that this grant would motivate them to scale up and soar to greater heights like their peers from the earlier editions. These Startups will play a pivotal role in achieving Tamil Nadu’s US $ 1 Trillion economy goal by 2030.
Another highlight of the day was the launch of the MentorTN portal (www.mentors.startuptn.in) by the TN Chief Minister. A mentor or an advisory team is one of the most important support systems for the Startup Community. Successful entrepreneurs, seasoned professionals and subject matter experts are trusted and looked up to by budding Startups to learn from their experience and expertise. Mentors guide Startups in their early stages, when the latter are more prone to stumble and fail. This strengthens the Startup ecosystem by increasing success stories.
The Mentor Portal is a novel initiative by StartupTN to connect Startups and aspirant mentees with mentors with vast experience in their domains in India and at the global level. The portal is loaded with interactive features to help Startups reach out to mentors based on their niche expertise and fix appointments with them for mentoring sessions. The portal will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in improving the success rate of Startups and in strengthening the Startup ecosystem of Tamil Nadu.
This momentous initiative was carried out in the presence of the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, T M Anbarasan; Chief Secretary, Dr. V Irai Anbu, Secretary to Government, MSME Department, V Arun Roy, StartupTN Mission Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sivarajah Ramanathan and other higher officials.