India has taken to startups like fish take to water. In a move that attests to this fact, HDFC Bank, one of India’s largest private sector lender banks, is launching a $ 25 million to $ 30 million fund to invest in early stage ventures, called the SmartUp Zone in Bengaluru.
Apart from creating a fund, HDFC will also provide financial and legal services to the selected startups. The private sector lender announced early this week through HDFC StartUp, they would invest in about 65 startups across 30 cities in India.
The SmartUp zone is a sector that will be dedicated solely to help startups. Through this initiative, HDFC Bank is looking to tackle specific pain points of the startup community. For instance, the private sector bank is looking to help the investors demat their unlisted shares to make it easier for the investors to exit. HDFC aims to harness the potential of the startups and fintech ecosystem using a multi prolonged approach. In order to broaden their reach and cater to all startups located in Karnataka, the zones will be established in nine branches across Bengaluru.
Speaking about the launch of SmartUp Zones, Arun Mediratta, the Branch Banking Head of HDFC Bank said, “At HDFC Bank, we believe that startups need partners, who will be with them right from the start of their entrepreneurial journey, creating solutions that evolve as the company grows. With this in mind, we are working towards creating a complete ecosystem to nurture the spirit of innovation and enterprise in the startup space that will spur job creation and bring economic benefits to the country.”
Last month, the bank announced, through its Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE,) it will mentor and handhold fintech startups incubated at the country’s top engineering and business schools. Under their Industry Academia initiative, HDFC also partnered with over 50 institutes including IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee and IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE.)