Maharashtra will roll out a Rs 200 crore fund to back state-bound deeptech startups, especially being spearheaded by women, said Manisha Verma, principal secretary for skills, employment, Entrepreneurship And Innovation Department.
The ‘Maharashtra Innovation and Technological Development Fund’ will be a Rs 200 crore corpus for early-stage startups in the state, Verma said at a Tiecon event on Friday, as reported by PTI.
"The fund will have a special focus on deeptech, women-led businesses and socially relevant startups," she said in her presentation at the annual summit.
Verma also added that the state is also planning to unveil a seed fund for startups.
“The state already has a slew of vehicles to make equity investments in startups, which have been launched in association with finance players having domain expertise.”
These include the Rs 120-crore Maharashtra Social Venture Fund, managed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), Rs 330-crore Maharashtra State Defense and Aerospace Fund and Rs 80-crore fund for entrepreneurs hailing from marginalized communities - managed by IDBI Capital, she said.
In the last four editions of the event, 96 startups have received orders of over Rs 14 crore through their participation.
Verma also said that a bulk of startups are coming up in clusters like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur and exhorted entrepreneurs to go deeper into other parts of the state.
She added that special attention is being given to skilling to ensure that the right talent is available for companies where they need it.
Several Indian deeptech startups are getting acquired by larger global companies to gain access to niche technologies and quality talent, indicating a strong demand for startups focusing on disruptive technologies that can solve complex global problems, VCCircle reported in November last year.
