T-Hub, a Telangana government-supported ecosystem builder, announced the launch of its redesigned funding programme ‘T-Angel' on Thursday to meet the funding needs of startups in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to T-Hub, the programme will be supported by Angel Investors who will collectively invest up to Rs 50 lakh in each qualified startup.

T-Angel is a 45-day acceleration programme for selected startups that will begin in July 2021. T-Hub claims that after an extensive screening process by a committee of investors and mentors, 15-20 tech beginners with cutting-edge solutions in various sectors will be shortlisted from applications received.

Startups from across India can apply for the programme before June 30.

“Even though there has been a substantial increase in startups’ ability to raise funds, only a small percentage of them are successful in raising funding from angels. We realized that the success percentage can considerably increase if entrepreneurs are aware of what the angel investors are looking for,” Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub said.

He went on to say that T-existence Angel's was purposefully designed to address this issue and that T-Hub believes there are plenty of technology startups that are investment-ready if they learn the fundamentals from an investor's perspective. “With startups from previous batches raising funds, the program has bridged a good percentage of gap between the investor and the startups,” Narayan said.

During the programme, T-Hub will conduct an in-depth assessment of the startup's business plan, and based on this, a customised work plan with specific interventions will be developed for each of the startups. Following that, the shortlisted startups will receive intensive training in the form of five two-hour online sessions from subject matter experts or consultants who will assist them in making their investment decisions.

The frequency of consultations, on the other hand, will be determined jointly by the programme and participating startups. This will result in a more refined business plan and investor pitch deck.

According to T-Hub, a five-person investment committee (IC) will evaluate onboarded startups and make investment decisions. Other programme investor members may also participate in the IC deliberations. The Rs 50 lakh will be invested in three equal installments.

According to T-Hub, the programme not only assisted them with investor connections, but startups have also raised over INR 10 Cr funds since the program's conclusion.

The eligibility criteria for the startup include that the startups must be in their early stages, have a marketable product (MVP) or prototype, or have completed a pilot, be incorporated in India, and be a company that develops technology (hardware or software) or employs technology to change the way a traditional business or set of business operations is carried out.