Naveen Patnaik announces startup hub in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced to set up a world-class startup hub in Bhubaneswar and launch fund-of-fund for start-ups to boost the ecosystem. He said this after the government signed an MoU with HDFC Bank to promote start-up Odisha initiative. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) department aimed to sponsor around 1,000 start-ups this year.
"Young entrepreneurs are engines of growth for New Odisha. I am sure the MoU between Start-up Odisha and HDFC Bank will open up new possibilities for start-ups in the state," the chief minister said. The state's initiatives for start-ups, including policy, infrastructure support through incubators and financial linkage schemes, must be widely publicised. The MSME department as well as other departments must take steps on a regular basis in this connection, Naveen added.
He said Start-up Odisha Initiative was launched to make Odisha as one of the top three start-up hubs in the country and support 1,000 start-ups.
"I am pleased to note that 570 start-ups have already been registered in the state out of which one-third are led by women entrepreneurs. My government is working relentlessly to support the young start-ups in every possible way," he added.