Size of the fund will grow to Rs.1000 million in a year. So far 16 businessmen have pledged to contribute Rs.70 million to the fund.
Monitoring Desk
Ahmedabad
Startups are now becoming community-oriented. The Sindhi community in the city has set up a venture capital fund of Rs.100 million to support startups developed by young entrepreneurs.
It aims to expand the size of the fund to Rs.1000 million in a year. So far 16 businessmen have pledged to contribute Rs.70 million to the fund.
Global Sindhu Business Network (GSBN) has created a syndicate within the community to incubate the fledgling business, cultivate talent and make Sindhi youth strong and confident.
GSBN coordinator Nikhil Methiya said, “We want to develop an ecosystem that allows startups to grow. We have established Global Sindhu Business Network and set up a venture capital fund with 16 syndicate members who have committed a fund of Rs.70 million. We will form a 15-member committee to look into entire process of funding the startups.”
He said that scalable businesses like those dealing in information technology services, artificial intelligence, healthcare, clean energy, climate change etc. will be preferred for funding.
‘Startups founders and owners will be required to furnish startup details and future roadmap with committee,” Nikhil said.
According to the model, GSBN will present the applications to the investors and businessmen from Sindhi community. The investor will get a portion of equity in the startup against the investment of the fund. The maximum ticket size for each startup will be Rs.50 lakh and based on the performance and progress, the investor will decide the next round of funding for that business.
The investors will allocate a portion of the profit gained from the business towards uplift of the Sindhi youth, especially in their education, training for civil services exams and skill development, Nikhil said.
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Courtesy: Times of India (Published on May 16, 2022)
