It typically represents the first official money that a business venture or enterprise raises.
It helps a company to finance its first steps, including things like market research and product development.
There are many potential investors in a seed funding situation: founders, friends, family, incubators, venture capital companies and more.
One of the most common types of investors participating in seed funding is a so-called "angel investor."
Angel investors tend to appreciate riskier ventures (such as startups with little by way of a proven track record so far) and expect an equity stake in the company in exchange for their investment.
Q What is Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) ?
A
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)
Aim: To provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.
Launched by: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with an outlay of Rs. 945 Crore.
Some Eligibility Conditions:
A startup, recognized by DPIIT, incorporated not more than 2 years ago at the time of application.
Startups should not have received more than Rs. 10 lakh of monetary support under any other Central or State Government scheme.
Expected Benefit:
It will help in creating a robust startup ecosystem in Tier 2 and 3 regions, as the smaller towns in India are often not provided with appropriate funding.
Q What are some key features of the scheme ?
A
It will support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators in the next 4 years.
An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC), constituted by DPIIT, will be responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the Scheme.
Grants of upto Rs. 5 crore will be provided to the eligible incubators selected by the committee.
The selected incubators will provide grants of up to Rs. 20 lakh for validation of proof of concept, or prototype development, or product trials to startups.
Investments of up to Rs. 50 lakh will be provided to the startups for market entry, commercialization, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments.
Q What is Startup India Initiative ?
A
Startup India Initiative:
It envisages building a robust Startup ecosystem in the country for nurturing innovation and providing opportunities to budding entrepreneurs. It was launched in 2016.
The action plan of this initiative focuses on following three areas:
Simplification and Handholding.
Funding Support and Incentives.
Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation.
Q What are some other related Initiatives of government ?
A
Related Government Initiatives:
Startup Innovation Challenges: It is a fantastic opportunity for any startup to leverage their networking and fund-raising efforts.
National Startup Awards: It seeks to recognize and reward outstanding startups and ecosystem enablers that are contributing to economic dynamism by spurring innovation and injecting competition.
Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems: It is an evolved evaluation tool aimed to strengthen the support of States and UTs to holistically build their startup ecosystems.
SCO Startup Forum: The first-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Startup Forum was launched in October 2020 to develop and improve startup ecosystems collectively.
Prarambh: The ‘Prarambh’ Summit aims to provide a platform to the startups and young minds from around the world to come with new ideas, innovation and invention.
