CM launches initiatives for startups

The government is working on a new startup and innovation policy

The Tamil Nadu government is working on a new startup and innovation policy, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said here on Tuesday. He said new-age entrepreneurs would be involved in the mission to achieve the $1-trillion economy.

“My dream is that Tamil Nadu should become the numero uno investment destination in South Asia,” he said at the Tamil Nadu Startups and Incubators meet.

Mr. Stalin launched three Startup Tamil Nadu Regional Hubs — in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Erode — to take the initiatives of the government to tier-II and tier-III regions. He rolled out the StartupTN accelerator initiative designed to propel growth stage startups with a minimum viable product to the next stage through upskilling, mentoring and access to the right resources. The initiative will benefit over 100 startups, to begin with.

Two more initiatives — community circles and incubator maturity model framework — were announced by Mr. Stalin. The objective of the community circles is to spread the art of innovation and entrepreneurship among students and create success stories within the community. These circles are micro-groups of 20-50 members comprising startups, entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, entrepreneurship development cells and incubator representatives, students, aspirants and enthusiasts.

The Chief Minister also gave away ₹5 lakh each to 31 startups from across the State. Of them, 16 startups have women spearheading the business in the role of founder or co-founder. The startups are in healthcare, assistive technology, FinTech, manufacturing, entertainment, skill development and B2B-SaaS (business-to-business software-as-a-service) among the sectors.

This was part of the third edition of Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED). Some of the winners include Dextroware Devices Pvt. Ltd., an assistive tech startup that built mouseware, a plug-and-play head wearable device that enables hands-free control of computers and smart devices, designed specially for the upper limb disabled. Another firm that got the seed grant is Nativekrea. It makes customised art products for business houses and individuals.