Launching the LEAP initiative, STPI finances startups

According to a senior STPI official on Monday, the state-owned company has begun accepting applications from startups as part of its Leap initiative, which funds business owners in association with venture capitalists and other private investors.

This year, 75 businesses will be chosen by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) as part of the initiative. In partnership with venture capital firms and angel investors, STPI will provide up to Rs 1 crore in investment for each company.

“We have previously used NGIS to invest Rs 25 lakh. About 100 of the businesses that we have invested in with our whole fund have already received funding. The goal of Leap is to support the next 100 companies, according to STPI Director General Arvind Kumar.

With the concept that they shouldn’t have to leave their city in order to expand their firm, he added that the Leap (Launchpad for Tech Entrepreneurs towards Accelerated growth and Pioneering Ahead) would be held in locations closer to startups in cities like Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, and Vijayawada.

The project is open to startups that are registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), have raised at least Rs 25 lakh from outside investors, or are bootstrapped.

“Our venture capital partners have committed to funding the chosen startups with up to Rs 50 lakh,” Kumar said.

From NGIS, STPI has set aside Rs 15 crore for the Leap initiative.

The government has given STPI a grant of Rs 95 crore to assist up to 300 entrepreneurs; to far, the organization has invested in 100 of these businesses.

Venture capitalists and incubators should consider interacting with companies outside of metropolises and tier-1 cities, according to S Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

“If the capital providers look at different locations and the kind of hunger that is there, then on the one hand you will be doing larger service that you will be doing not just to India but to the world as well,” he said, adding that you will also find innovation and more innovative opportunities to invest in.

He said that because commerce in India is conducted on such a large scale, there are many prospects.