Team Startupcity

• JECRC Incubation Centre, in partnership with MeitY Startup Hub, launched a Rs 1.8 crore funding program to support 12 emerging startups from the state.
• The initiative aims to strengthen entrepreneurship in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, introducing national programs like GENESIS and TIDE 2.0 within a state-run university.
• Startups will receive funding from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 50 lakh across stages from idea validation to scale-up helping them compete globally from Rajasthan’s innovation hub.

Empowering Tier-2 Cities with Wings of Innovation Jaipur, Rajasthan, India (NewsVoir) In a significant impetus to the startup ecosystem of Rajasthan, JECRC Incubation Centre (JIC) at JECRC University, Jaipur, has launched the state's biggest-ever funding program in association with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Startup Hub, Government of India.

Under this historic collaboration, 12 of Rajasthan's budding startups will receive funding assistance valued at Rs 1.8 crore collectively. The program is designed with special emphasis to give a boost to the startup ecosystem of Rajasthan, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

For the first time, high-profile national initiatives like GENESIS and TIDE are being initiated within a state-run technical university providing a 'Shark Tank' like environment for budding entrepreneurs to pitch and scale their startups.

Startups will be funded at different stages of development from idea validation to prototyping and market fit. A multi-level funding system has been implemented to drive growth in these stages. Four startups will be granted Rs 7 lakh each under TIDE 2.0.

Also Read: Top 10 IT Startup Courses for Budding Entrepreneurs in India

Further, startups will be funded as per the maturity level under the GENESIS program up to Rs 10 lakh for Early Idea (EIR), up to Rs 40 lakh for MVP to Pilot Stage and up to Rs 50 lakh for Investment to Scale-Up Stage. The opportunity is only available to Rajasthan-based startups that consist of both individual innovators and DPIIT-registered startups with a minimum of 51% Indian ownership.

The JECRC Incubation Centre not only provides financial help but also seeks to make a revolutionary difference in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of smaller cities equipping startups from Rajasthan to compete on a global scale.

Over the past five years, JIC has supported more than 80 startups with cumulative funding exceeding Rs 8 crore, along with providing state of the art facilities such as co-working space, investor connect, pilot connect and industry partnerships.