Over 100 angel investors from India and the United States are coming together to evaluate ideas from 100 entrepreneurs from across small towns in Tamil Nadu. Through this unique initiative, ‘Startup Tamil Nadu 2020’, ten of the 100 start-ups will be provided funding on the spot. The funds will range anywhere between ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh per start-up, depending on their requirement. The remaining 90 start-ups will be given mentoring and incubation access by industry experts. Startup Tamil Nadu will take place in Chennai on March 14
“This is a platform designed and curated for start-ups based out of tier-2 and tier-3 towns and those from the rural pockets. Over the long term, the idea is to churn out 1,000 entrepreneurs over the next ten years,” said R. Sivarajah, Director of Winways Systems Private Limited and Director of Nativelead.
Madurai-based Nativelead in association with the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovative Institute (EDII) are cherry picking start-ups that would make it to the top 100. EDII was constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu as a not-for-profit society and is administered by the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
To identify the 100 start-ups, a programme called Thedal (in search) has already commenced across Tamil Nadu. “We are going to each town and picking start-ups that will enter the finals. The short-listed start-ups will also attend a boot camp to understand the nuances of the business,” Mr. Sivarajah added. According to him, the objective of this event is not just funding but creating an ecosystem for start-ups in the State.
Technology Entrepreneur Suresh Sambandam, the CEO of Kissflow and founder of Orangescape, said that Tamil Nadu has done well in executing master strokes around primary education and higher education that have led to a largw amount of professional talent but the State had not done anything to increase jobs. “If we need to create more jobs it can only be done by creating more entrepreneurs. This initiative start-up Tamil Nadu 2020 is a step towards that direction,” he added