The Start-up Incubation Centre at KLE Technological University, KLE – CTIE, has been awarded the NIDHI – SSS (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovators – Seed Support Scheme) by the Union government.
The Department of Science and Technology has released a grant of ₹ 5.25 crore to the incubation centre to scale up start-up activities.
The scheme aims to ensure timely availability of seed fund to deserving start-ups which can get up to ₹ 25 lakh and in exceptional cases, can be awarded ₹ 1 crore as seed support in the early stages of their journey for market support and scale-up.
“NIDHI – SSS is a great opportunity for start-ups in the region to jump start their business to a new level. Now, at KLE – CTIE, start-ups can enjoy support at all levels. Once the start-up selection committee is constituted, start-ups shall be asked to apply for seed funding. This is indeed a great support for start-ups as many have plans to scale up but are struggling to align their financials. “We at KLE – CTIE are excited to see world class start-ups come to Hubballi,” Director, KLE – CTIE, Nitin Kulkarni, has said.
A start-up selection committee will assess start-up ideas for their relevance, marketability and entrepreneurial perseverance before they are deemed eligible for seed support.
KLE – CTIE has successfully supported more than 80 start-ups over the last eight years. Start-ups here work in various domains such as VLSI, ESDM, BioTech, AgriTech, ITES, Food Tech and HealthTech. At present, with 33 start-ups incubated on campus, seed support will be a game changer for many of them, not only at KLE – CTIE but also from around the region.
With access to ecosystem built at KLE Technological University and with several initiatives undertaken by the university and KLE – CTIE in the past few years, start-ups incubated at the incubation centre have an edge over their peers.
Vice-Chancellor Ashok Shettar has said that it was a remarkable recognition for a campus incubator and it reflected on the university’s vision and values. “Our aim is to make Hubballi a hub of world class start-ups and getting such funding takes us closer to it. KLE – CTIE teamwork has led to this recognition,” he said.
Interested start-ups can access further details on www.klectie.com and apply for the scheme by contacting the centre at ctie@kletech.ac.in, according to a release.
