Funding (BIRAC SEED Fund & Idea2PoC / Elevate 100)

Funding (BIRAC SEED Fund & Idea2PoC / Elevate 100)

Bio-incubation allows harnessing of the entrepreneurial potential of startups by providing access to infrastructure, mentoring as well as networking platforms that the startups could use during their fledgling days. It helps the young entitites to survive by providing them specialised support services during the critical period of a business venture i.e. the start-up phase.

While the Bioincubators are able to support the "Space, Services and Knowledge" requirements of startups, wide gap exists in financial support required by a technology driven start up in the initial phase. BIRAC's initiative -Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Fund ("SEED Fund") primarily aims to address this need through the Incubators.

The basic idea of SEED Fund is providing Capital assistance to startups with new and meritorious ideas, innovations and technologies. This would enable some of these start-ups to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments rom angel/Venture capitalist or they will reach a position to seek loans from commercial banks /financial institutions. Thus the proposed seed support is positioned to act as a bridge between promoters' investment and Venture/Angel investment. This is not an investment scheme, but, rather a support scheme to enable start-ups and incubator to attain sustainability.

Idea2PoC / Elevate 100

‘Idea2PoC’ initiative is part of India’s first multi-sector Startup Policy launched by the Government of Karnataka in November, 2015. The objective is to encourage innovators who may need early-stage funding to stimulate commercialization of their inventions and to help in validating Proof of Concept. The scheme enables technology innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue a promising technology idea and validate proof of concept (PoC). Idea2POC is given in the form of Grant-in-aid but limited to a one time grant of up to Rs. 50 lakhs.

‘ELEVATE 100’, an initiative of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka aims to provide a comprehensive entrepreneurship platform for start-ups. The top 100 technology based start-ups chosen through a rigorous hunt across Karnataka State will tap into a whopping sum of Rs.400 Cr of Government funds. This is the largest pool of funds ever offered by any State Government to Start-ups.