OdishaPlus Bureau
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said that young entrepreneurs are growth engines for a new Odisha. Speaking on the occasion where the State Government signed a memorandum of understanding with leading private sector bank HDFC here to provide smart banking solutions to startups recognized by Startup Odisha, Patnaik said, the agreement will open up new possibilities for start-ups.
“I am sure this MOU between Start-up Odisha and HDFC Bank will open up new possibilities for Start-ups,” he added. Patnaik said the Startup Odisha initiative was launched with an aim to make Odisha as one of the top three Start-up Hubs in the country and support 1000 Start-ups.
“I am pleased to note that 570 Start-ups have already been registered in the state out of which one third are led by women entrepreneurs. My Government is working relentlessly to support the young Start-ups in every possible way. We are going to set up a world-class Start-up Hub in Bhubaneswar and launch a Fund-of-Funds for Start-ups this year to further boost the ecosystem,” said Patnaik.
Patnaik expressed his satisfaction with the progress made under Odisha Startup Policy and reaffirmed the commitment of the Government to make Odisha one of the top 3 Startup Hubs in the country.
Chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA), Subroto Bagchi said, “We are extremely delighted with the partnership with India’s leading Banks. This can provide the boost required by Young Startups in the State.”
Minister of MSME Dibya Shankar Mishra said that Odisha is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the country.
“We invite more such partners to collaborate with us in this journey creating a holistic support system for startups,” he added.
Principal Secretary, MSME Department Hemant Sharma, said, “This unique collaboration between, Startup Odisha and HDFC Bank will be a big step forward in providing a smart support system to our Startups.”
Notably, under the MoU HDFC Bank would provide smart banking solutions to startups recognized by Startup Odisha along with the opportunity to pitch their solutions to requisite stakeholders and will work towards providing them an opportunity to showcase their solutions.
In addition to the above, HDFC Bank will extend incubation and acceleration support to all startups banking with them, said officials.
HDFC Bank is having third party alliances to provide discounts for startups across key business support functions like shared workspaces, digital marketing, content writing, tax and legal advisory, financial management, compliance among others.
Also, HDFC Bank will enable startups to list their Smart Buy platform for growth and visibility. In addition, HDFC Bank would assist Startup Odisha Initiative in organizing Startup Yatras, Hackathons, acceleration programs, and Startup Conclaves.
As per the agreement, life skills will be imparted to the students of all the 49 Government ITIs of the State. The agreement was signed by Reghu G, Director Industries cum CEO IED and Smita Bhagat, Group Head, HDFC Bank.
A cheque of Rs 1 Crore was handed over to KIIT TBI, a state-based Incubator by Chief Minister on behalf of HDFC Bank on this occasion. The money will be used to support Odisha Startups incubated at KIIT TBI.
Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy, APC P K Mahapatra, Chief Adviser to Chief Minister R Balakrishnan, Secretaries of different departments, senior officials, Evangelist Startup Odisha Prasanta Biswal were present among others at the MoU signing ceremony.