Coimbatore Vizha, the annual festival to celebrate Coimbatore, had an event this year to promote entrepreneurship.
Organised by TIE and NativeLead along with Young Indians, ‘The Pitch’ brought together startups and investors from different places. Ajith Moorthy, co-chair of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation wing of Yi, said that as many as 105 startups had applied to take part in ‘The Pitch’ and the semi finals was held recently. The startups selected made presentations to four sector-specific panels (retail, technology, impact and sustainability and service). The startups were in different verticals - food, healthcare, nanotechnology, etc.
The finals was held here on Saturday and seven startups pitched for funds and four for resources. The incubators in the region were also part of the programme. “It was decided that all the four startups that pitched for resources will be supported,” he said. Of the seven startups that pitched for funding, ‘Uzhavar Bhoomi’ was identified for ₹ 1 crore funding. The first tranche of ₹ 50 lakh was released on Saturday. “The startup has re-imagined the process of milk supply chain,” he said.
“This is a startup we have been following up. While the first tranche was released on Saturday, the investors have committed for ₹ 1 crore,” said Sivarajah Ramanathan, founder and CEO of Nativelead. Two other startups - Shiksha Academy and Terracarb - have been given letters of intent for funding. “We wanted this (The Pitch) to be part of the Vizha to celebrate entrepreneurship,” Mr. Moorthy said.
