ISB awards ₹5 cr under Central start-up fund scheme

Hyderabad: The Indian School of Business' DLabs incubator has been awarded Rs. 5 crore under the Central government's Startup India Seed Fund Scheme.

The scheme helps start-ups graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel investors or venture capitalists or seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions. Under this scheme, ISB's Dlabs incubator association will facilitate the allotment of seed funds to eligible early-stage start-ups. The funds will be used for financial assistance to start-ups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.

The Indian start-up ecosystem suffers from capital inadequacy in the seed and proof of concept development stage. The capital required at this stage often presents a make-or-break situation for start-ups with good business ideas. Many innovative business ideas fail to take off due to the absence of this critical capital required at an early stage. Seed fund offered to promising start-ups can have a multiplier effect in validating business ideas of many start-ups, leading to employment generation.

Talking about this funding, Professor Bhagwan Chowdhry, the faculty director of ISB DLabs, said, "Many good ideas don't see the light of the day because they could not get early-stage funding. This grant will help us fix it."

ISB has been at the forefront in working with the government and industry on various research-driven initiatives and incubating start-ups, supporting them to flourish and raise funds. Supported by the Central government's department of science and technology, DLabs at ISB hosts a state-of-the-art space for entrepreneurs to interact, engage and collaborate with mentors, investors, and academia.