Start-ups from Northeast invited to submit ideas to avail investment

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Feb. 15(EMN): Start-ups from North East Region (NER) that are working with innovative solutions have been invited to submit its ideas for the Start-Up investment Fest 2022 from February 15 to March 15, where the shortlisted firms will be provided opportunities to avail investments.

This was announced by the chairman of North East Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi), Murty, during the launch of Start-Up Investment Fest 2022. The fest was launched virtually on Tuesday by the Secretary of DoNER, Lok Ranjan.

Murty stated that the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), a dedicated venture fund for the NER, promoted by NEDFi, Ministry of DoNER and SIDBI, aims to reach out to start-ups and first generation entrepreneurs of the region who are working on building business models which are based on new products and services backed by technology and innovation with superior value proposition and potential for high growth.

He stated that the event is open for start-ups from all sectors working on innovative solutions and ideas that aim to disrupt the way consumers, industries and business operate. He informed that the shortlisted start-ups will get an opportunity to pitch physically or virtually in front of the investment committee comprising veteran investment managers, industry experts to secure investments for their start-ups.

He said that the aim of this event is to work towards a more inclusive approach by providing opportunities to get investments for scaling up of their business ventures, and therefore he requested start-ups from NER to participate in the event.

NEVF is targeting to invest a minimum amount of INR 25 lakh each in selected start-ups based out of the region that are helping to solve complex business problems through the use of technology and are targeting to bring both product and process based innovation, efficiency and transparency to scale their business, he stated.

Murty further mentioned that the intent of this event is to act as a booster to the start-up ecosystem of the region, providing the start-up a platform to showcase their business ideas and provide them access to high capital to scale their business.

The start-ups that would be selected for investment through this event would not only be getting access to investments for scaling up their venture but also get access to a host of other facilities like handholding support, advisor network, investor network, marketing support and others, he added

The overall objective of this entire exercise is to find innovative, scalable, technology based start-ups and provide them with the capital and network to develop themselves into business models with a global approach, he concluded.

Ranjan also shared that the secondary, tertiary or even in the primary sector will require local solutions to issues that are faced locally and ‘so the start-up agility has to come in’.

Stating that INR 1500 crore support has been announced for NER by the ministry of Finance during the Budget session, he stated “we expect that in the coming years, this will be a continuous devolution for the development of the North Eastern states”.

He later said that the fest is intended for innovative approaches which will not only lead to rapid development of the Northeast but also in terms of development of youth and women for augmenting their incomes.

‘This is a very big signal that the projects which are for road development, women, and youth in the NE for augmentation are getting the top priority in the eyes of the government,’ he said.