Karnataka govt launches loan scheme for woman entrepreneurs

The KITS invited applications from woman entrepreneurs for loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, to be provided by KSWDC under the Vriddhi scheme

The Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) and the Karnataka State Women Development Corporation (KSWDC) have set in motion a budgetary proposal to extend loan support to woman entrepreneurs in the state.

The KITS, on Wednesday, invited applications from woman entrepreneurs for loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, to be provided by KSWDC under the Vriddhi scheme.

The beneficiaries will be restricted to winners and runners-up of two state-run startup challenges – Elevate (2016 to 2021) and Amrita Startups (2021). A proposal in this connection was made in the state budget for 2022-23. The loans will be provided at a 4 per cent interest rate, to be repaid in 60 installments.

A key official engaged with the initiative told DH that the facilitators were hopeful of identifying a substantial talent pool even with the restricted eligibility.

Scale-up support

“This is the stage where entrepreneurs who have already passed the PoC (proof of concept) phase are preparing to scale up. Challenges like Elevate have attracted more than 1,000 applicants; the winners and runners-up by themselves constitute a very impressive spread,” the official said.

The State Department for Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T launched Elevate – Idea2PoC scheme to help incubate innovative startups and provide them funds and mentorship. So far, a total of 531 winners have been supported with funding of Rs 124.28 crore. The final of the 2021 edition of Elevate featured 522 startups; 107 of them were declared winners.

The department also runs Elevate Women, a programme under which incubation and acceleration programmes are designed to support woman entrepreneurs with grant-in-aid funds.

“Post-Covid trends show increased participation of healthcare-based startups in these challenges. Fintech and edtech are other sectors that have generated considerable interest,” the official said.

The eligibility criteria for the KSWDC loans stipulate that at least one director or partner in the applicant company should be a woman with substantial shares in the company. The applications will be screened initially for eligibility as per norms prescribed in the Karnataka Startup Policy 2015-20. The KSWDC will select the beneficiaries from a list of eligible woman entrepreneurs submitted by a KITS expert panel.