The selection process for accelerators will be spearheaded by an expert panel comprising representatives from the government, industry, and investors
Open for application till October 2, the scheme will offer a budget of up to INR 20 Lakh per cohort to develop incubation programmes for early-stage startups
During the first cohort of the SAMRIDH scheme, as many as 22 selected accelerators, which spanned 12 states, supported 175 homegrown startups
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary (MeitY) has floated the expression of interest (EoI) for the second cohort of its Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) scheme.
MeitY has now sought applications till October 2 from existing and upcoming accelerators to offer incubation services to startups. Under this, the ministry will partner with selected accelerators to offer one-to-one matching funding support of up to INR 40 Lakhs to startups.
As per an Economic Times, the second cohort will see the incubation of 125 startups by existing and upcoming accelerators during the six-month long programme. The selection process will be spearheaded by an expert committee comprising representatives from the government, industry, and investors.
Under the scheme, selected accelerators will receive a budget of up to INR 20 Lakh per cohort to develop incubation programmes for early-stage startups. Besides funding support, the selected startups will also receive mentorship on product development, business planning, customer acquisition, managing investor relations, among others.
A single cohort can support a maximum of 10 startups and a minimum of 5 startups in the tech space, read the EoI.
The document also noted that as many as 22 accelerators, spanning 12 states, supported 175 homegrown startups in the first cohort of the SAMRIDH scheme. The list includes the likes of India Accelerator, LetsVenture Foundation, T-Hub Foundation, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, among others.
It is pertinent to note that angel investment platform LetsVenture was recently selected for the scheme and will reportedly likely infuse $100K in eight early-stage startups.
Implemented under the aegis of MeitY Startup Hub and Digital India Corporation, the SAMRIDH scheme was first launched in 2021 under the National Policy on Software Products, 2019. With the initiative, MeitY has set its eyes on nurturing 300 startups with total funding of INR 99 Cr spanning four years.
