In a significant achievement, AIC IIIT Kottayam Foundation, a primary incubation company of the Indian Institute of Information Technology here, has been selected by StartupIndia for distribution of seed funds to early stage start-ups.
Under the scheme, the foundation can support innovative start-ups, which will be eligible for a financial assistance up to ₹50 lakh or more, based on an evaluation by a special committee. The fund will support an estimated 55 start-ups over the next couple of years.
“Our early stage start-ups or entrepreneurs, including the future entrepreneurial students of IIIT, Kottayam, IITs, IISERs or leading universities or institutes, could pursue entrepreneurship from our centre,” said Shajulin Benedict, Director, AIC IIIT.
The primary task at hand, according to him, is to make the local start up ecosystem aware of the scheme, he added.
Preference would be given to start-ups that work in leading technologies such as Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Blockchains as well as those in market analysis and international businesses. The AIC IIIT Kottayam Foundation at present has 35 start-ups, 50 mentors, and international tie-ups with incubation centres across Europe and Canada
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) to provide financial assistance to start-ups for the proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialisation.
For more details, visit http://icentre.iiitkottayam.ac.in