Venture fund provided by govt for start-ups, entrepreneurship in NE

A venture fund is being provided by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) for the growth of entrepreneurship and to encourage start-ups in the region, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

Singh informed Rajya Sabha that the North East Venture Fund (NEVF) was formally launched in 2017 with joint efforts of the Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) to encourage start-ups and empower entrepreneurs from the North Eastern Region (NER).

It is a close-ended fund with capital commitment of Rs 100 crore and the investment ranging between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 10 crore per venture, which is long term in nature with investment horizon of 4-5 years, he said in reply to a written question.

Singh said the NEVF team has vigorously been participating in various events, seminars, conclaves, etc., across the Northeastern region and interacted with start-ups, both on one-on-one and group basis, to promote the fund.

The team members have also interacted with various venture funds, incubators in the venture capital eco-system, he said.

Singh, Minister for DoNER, said over the last three years, 212 enquiries and applications were received across sectors like agri-allied, healthcare, biotechnology, education, food processing, tourism, logistics, parking, aggregation of services, entertainment, etc.

Among these, 40 proposals have been taken to the investment committee for perusal and 22 proposals have received investment commitment.

The NEVF till date has made a disbursement of Rs 18.16 crore to 12 start-ups, he said.