One of them is working on technology that will make wedding planning easy, another is developing a system for automatic inspection of fasteners, and one more company is developing a virtual trial room for textile outlets.
They are all start-ups that are incubated at the PSG Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Park (PSG-STEP) and are among the five companies that received the first round of funding from the “Seed Fund Support Scheme” of the STEP.
The young entrepreneurs (aged between 25 and 32) interacted with the Managing Trustee of PSG & Sons Charities L. Gopalakrishnan and received totally Rs. 72.5 lakh under the funding support. Almost all of them have started trying out the solutions in the private sector.
The products or solutions developed by the units should be technology-based. This year, two of the five companies are working in the healthcare sector. Coimbatore can develop as a hub for development of healthcare solutions, according to K. Suresh Kumar, General Manager of the STEP. He says that the assistance is given as loan at five per cent interest and without any collateral. The units have to repay the amount in five years and have one year moratorium for repayment. PSG-STEP instituted the “Seed Fund Support Scheme” with financial support from Technology Development Board and the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board.
The Department of Science and Technology had sanctioned Rs. 3 crore for the support scheme. So far, Rs. 2.39 crore has been sanctioned to 14 incubatees and Rs. 1.13 crore has been disbursed. A company that had received funds in the first round has already graduated from the STEP and set up its unit here. The interest paid by the benefiting units goes back to the seed fund and is used to assist more number of units. This year, seven units were selected from the applicants for the funding and five were finalised. The units are at the STEP for three to five years, he says.
