Chennai: The govt is working towards building an inclusive startup ecosystem in the state, deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said.
"Startup TN's mission is aligned with the state's social justice mission. Startups should be created throughout Tamil Nadu. It should be created by all sections of the people," he said.
He said, "This govt created the SC/ ST startup fund with the aim of creating entrepreneurs from oppressed communities. The govt increased the allocation of SC/ST fund from 30 crore in 2023 to 50 crore, following a huge response and success of that scheme."
The state govt will soon provide funding aid for startups founded by transgenders and the disabled, he said.
At the StartupTN event at IIT Madras Research Park on Tuesday, he launched Periyar Social Justice Venture Lab, an acceleration programme for social and climate enterprises and entrepreneurs from SC/ST communities. He also launched Thozhil Nayam, a design studio aiming to help direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups list on e-commerce platforms.
He said the contribution of startups is as important as large enterprises in achieving the state's trillion-dollar economy goal.
With the aim of providing global exposure and connection to companies operating in the state, the Tamil Nadu govt has established a global startup coordination centre in Dubai. Similar centres will soon be established in Singapore and the US, the deputy chief minister said.
The Tamil Nadu govt is facilitating companies to access international markets through participation in exhibitions, he said, citing recent examples of govt sponsoring 19 startups from Tamil Nadu to take part in Dubai's GITEX event.
Udhayanidhi then presented sanction letters for pre-incubation centres. StartupTN plans to establish these centres in smaller cities. StartupTN also exchanged memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with organisations such as NSRCEL, ARAI - AMTIF, and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles at the event.