Seed Support System for Early Stage Tech Driven Startups in Incubators


Under

(OR)

TBI@KEC is hosting a seed fund under the scheme "Seed Support System for Start-ups in Incubators" of the Technology Developement Board (TDB) and the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology.

The Seed Support is for incubatees (physical resident units within STEP/TBI). The funds are meant for early stage startups to fund for indigenous ideas and technologies requiring up-scaling and related work. The basic idea of seed support is providing financial assistance to potential startups with promising ideas, innovations and technologies. This would enable some of these incubatee startups with innovative ideas/technologies to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel/Venture capitalist or they will reach a position to seek loans from commercial banks /financial institutions. Thus, the proposed seed support disbursed by an incubator to an incubatee is positioned to act as a bridge between development and commercialization of innovative technologies/ products in a relatively hassle-free manner.

Last Date to apply: 26.05.2024

Broad Areas to be covered under the financial assistance include:

  • Product development (Procurement of equipment and tools, prototyping, raw material and consumables, fabrication, outsourcing of technical supports and services for the company's product.
  • Testing and trials
  • Marketing (For test marketing, sales, promotions of companies' products and services including travelling only for business and product promotion)
  • Mentoring (Seeking Professional / Professors/ Experts mentoring assistance)
  • IPR issues
  • Professional Consultancy (For legal, accountancy, IP, marketing, strategy, regulatory compliance, certification, or any other justifiable professional services)
  • Manpower (Salaries for team members can be apportioned)
  • Contingencies/Overrun (This shall not exceed 10% of the seed support.)
  • Any other area as deemed necessary and recommended by the Management Committee.

The Seed fund emphasizes:

  • Alignment with TBI@KEC Focus /Thrust areas - Advanced Manufacturing, Robotics, Drones, Agri& Food Tech, Health & Med Tech, Clean & Green Tech - Air, Water, Energy and Waste, Internet of Things (IoT), AI & ML and AR/VR/MR. Other technology areas may also be considered on strength or merit of the idea.
  • As Product offerings
  • IP-rich and Technology Driven enterprises
  • Strong knowledge components in enterprises

Eligibility Conditions for startups to apply:

  • The startup must be or willing to be resident incubatee of TBI@KEC
  • The startup must be a private limited company in India or must be in the process of registration
  • The share holding by Indian promoters in the Startup should be at least 51%. Persons holding Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) would be considered as Indian citizens for the purpose of this scheme. This support is not meant for Indian Subsidiaries of MNCs/foreign companies.

Selection Criteria:

  • There must be one dedicated full-time founder involved in the startup with team in place
  • There must be a formal Business Plan and Pitch Deck
  • The Idea and team should be technically sound for execution
  • Key Proof-of-Concept / Prototype must be demonstrated & must be reproducible
  • The startup must have a strong technology / knowledge component
  • The founders & team should show potential for sustainability and credibility for raising money in future, if required
  • Legal & statutory requirements must be met and compliances adhered
  • Environment Health Safety (EHS) requirements must be met and compliances adhered
  • The venture and the team must have high ethical & professional standards

 Applications will also be reviewed based on following criteria (but not limited to):

  • Is amount of funding requested enough to reach critical milestone? plan for additional funds and means, if any required
  • Does the venture have a clear, potentially significant/singular value proposition?
  • How big/ fast growing is the potential market?
  • Are target customers clearly identified?
  • How credible is the technology? (Is Prototype/MVP credible in the opinion of subject-matter experts?)
  • Are there regulatory/certification/policy risks?
  • What are the sources of sustainable competitive advantage (eg. novelty, patentability, etc.)?
  • What is the quality of the business plan (revenue model, product roadmap, market segments, etc.)?

Terms for seed funding:

Investment mode

Loan

Interest for seed fund Loan

5% p.a

Investment amount

upto Rs.25 lakhs

Investment period

12 months*

No of installments

2 or 3* release linked to review of milestones by MC

Repayment Period

3 years*

Guidance cum Mentoring Fee

2% of the sanctioned loan amount

Reporting and Review

Bi-annual presentation to seed committee + Annual financials (Audited) till loan closure

Selected startup should be / become a resident incubatee of TBI@KEC and should have completed 3 months of residency at TBI@KEC at the time of seed fund investment.

* may be considered on case to case basis by MC

Application form for

Incubation Download

Seed Fund Download

Templates

Disclaimer

  • The applications received under the program, are subject to due diligence of screening process.
  • Screening will also be subject to the parameters other than the eligibility, such as Innovation, Potential for commercialization and startup creation, Team capability and Commitments etc.,
  • Screening of applications will take maximum 6 weeks, from the date of closure of call for application submission.
  • Only selected candidates will be notified/informed through email about the final presentation to the Internal Project Monitoring Committee. No communication from TBI@KEC within the timeframe may be deemed as non-selection of your application for the program.
  • The decision of the Seed Fund Management Committee for approval and funding support will be final, firm and binding.
  • The approved applicants will have to agree for Incubation with TBI@KEC as per its policy/terms
  • TBI@KEC will not provide any suggestion/ explanation with regards to the applications that are not shortlisted / selected.