Industry leaders term Karnataka’s FOF and deep tech fund biggest boost yet for ‘Beyond Bengaluru’
The Hindu
The government’s announcement in the State Budget to set aside ₹300 crore for a Fund of Funds (FOF) and ₹100 crore for deep tech development has received praises from the industry leaders and experts who feel that these initiatives will go a long way in boosting the start-up ecosystem in clusters such as Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi .
The government’s announcement in the State Budget to set aside ₹300 crore for a Fund of Funds (FOF) and ₹100 crore for deep tech development has received praises from the industry leaders and experts who feel that these initiatives will go a long way in boosting the start-up ecosystem in clusters such as Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi.
The government plans to introduce the initiatives under the ‘Local Economy Accelerator Programme’ (LEAP) to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in cities other than Bengaluru with a grant of ₹1,000 crore. LEAP will aim at creating 5 lakh employment opportunities.
“The thinking that a fund will galvanize more start-ups to come up in clusters beyond Bengaluru is a great idea. Perhaps, a large part of the ₹300 crores FOF will be directed towards these start-ups,” said Madan Padaki, president, TiE Bangalore.
While programmes have already been initiated under ‘Beyond Bengaluru’, the latest announcements come as a booster shot, he said. According to him, the five-year window set by the government also would help to plan long-term and execute efficiently.
“Ecosystems don’t get created overnight. It is the first time a State has adopted a longer-term perspective of this kind,” he said.
Mohandas Pai, Chairman at Aarin Capital and former CFO at Infosys, lauded the announcements saying that for the first time the Karnataka government made some very serious investment for IT in the budget.
“For a very long time, it has been just pronouncements without money being put behind it. This time there is a clear objective of 5 lakh jobs in the next five years,” he said.
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