A leader in terms of factories and industry workers, Tamil Nadu is known because of its rich automobiles and auto components manufacturing base. These traditional industries of the state have also impacted the growth of start-ups in Tamil Nadu. While the environment is suitable for businesses, the state is also catching up in terms of infrastructure. It is opening up to high-end facilities and research spaces of late. Through a combination of talent, technology and incentives, the state has all the elements to achieve its global ambitions of delivering world class products and services.

To support entrepreneurship, the Tamil Nadu government launched its Start-up and Innovation policy as recently as 2019. The policy was introduced with a mission of creating 100K high skilled jobs, direct and indirect, in the start-up ecosystem by 2023. The policy had also set out to create the Tamil Nadu Start-up Fund with a corpus of INR 250 Cr ($21 Mn) for investments in startups. This is expected to nurture innovation, investment in infrastructure, knowledge creation, technological development and skilled manpower, resulting in highgrowth entrepreneurial ventures across the spectrum of sectors from agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, education, logistics, social sector, urban development, environment, to Fintech and ICT.

In our current edition, we have featured a list of “10 Best Startups in Tamil Nadu”. The issue lists such startups that are extending support to social entrepreneurship for a positive social impact and inclusion and establishing global accessibility, connections and partnerships. With the government finally instituting a start-up policy last year, the investor and start-up activity in Tamil Nadu is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years, led by the success of the startups that have already grown to unicorn status.

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