Tamil Nadu launches initiatives for green technology, rural impact, and female-led companies

• ByStartupStory     |    January 2, 2023

The state government of Tamil Nadu unveiled special packages on Friday to support women-owned businesses, rural impact, and green technology start-ups in the region. The project includes funding designated for them under the Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund, StartupTN’s flagship grant program (TANSEED). Subsidies for companies falling into specific categories would also be increased by 50%, from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

The mission for Startups and Innovation in Tamil Nadu (StartupTN). The grant will be given in three equal installments of Rs. 500,000 if certain requirements are met. Additionally, the program has set aside 10% for firms with a rural effect and 25% of the overall TANSEED funding for women-led startups. Through an expedited application processing window, eligible enterprises would receive larger sums of seed money from the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund Scheme as stock or convertible debentures.

The barrage of announcements includes support for scaling up through structured acceleration in addition to financial assistance and benefits. At state-supported incubation facilities for women-led startups, exclusive co-working spaces will be made available. For the first year, these amenities will be offered without charge for rent or membership (up to Rs 200,000). Women-led startups stand to gain from a specific entrepreneurship training program, a particular women’s mentorship preprogrammed portal incorporating startup ecosystem enablers.

The package also includes focused angel investor circles operating under the Tamil Angels platform, an annual acceleration program for women-led enterprises, fem-tech startups, and other components. The startups must be owned by women or co-founded by a group of women in order to receive these perks.

The Green Climate Fund will provide funding for commercially viable infrastructure initiatives that support sustainability and circularity. In Chennai and Madurai, respectively, StartupTN will establish government procurement facilitation desks for qualified startups. The workstations would make it easier for government and public organizations, including local governments, to test and use items.

The state government established StartupTN’s flagship program, TANSEED, to promote early-stage entrepreneurs with a seed grant of up to Rs 10 lakh apiece. In the first three iterations of TANSEED, sixty startups have received funding and benefited from it.

On Friday, Stalin also unveiled the MentorTN portal (mentors.startup.in), via which aspiring businesses can connect with seasoned professionals, established businesspeople, and respected subject-matter experts to get knowledge from their experience and skills. In their early stages, when they are more likely to falter, companies are guided by mentors. By expanding the number of success stories, it improves the startup ecosystem. 

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