SKU-AIC has been selected under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and some selected startups operating from the Atal Incubation Centre of the Sri Krishnadevaraya University Confederation (AIC-SKU Confederation) will get financial support of up to ₹ 20 lakh.

The AIC-SKU is the first incubator in Andhra Pradesh to receive a fund of ₹ 5 crores.

“The fund will support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators in the next four years. Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs. Funding from angel investors and venture capital firms becomes available to startups only after the proof of concept is provided. Similarly, banks provide loans only to asset-backed applicants,” said AIC-SKU Director Konduru Nagabhushan Raju.

Using these schemes, the AIC-SKU Confederation can support innovative startups to turn them into successful business ventures. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has started the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with an expenditure of ₹ 945 crores to provide financial assistance to startups for the prototype development, market entry, proof of concept, product trials and commercialisation.

Referring to the eligibility criteria Nagabhushan said, a startup, recognised by the DPIIT, should have been incorporated for no,more than two years and must have a business idea to develop a product or a service with a market fit, viable commercialisation and scope of scaling.

Preference would be given to startups offering innovative solutions in sectors such as social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles, etc. The startup should not have got more than ₹ 10 lakh under any other Central or State scheme. Shareholding by Indin promoters in the startup should be at least 51 per cent, he said.