Odisha is going establish a world-class start up hub — O Hub — in Bhubaneswar, which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in April, informed Satyabrata Sahu, Principal Secretary, MSME Department of Govt of Odisha.
He said that the state came up with the Odisha Start-up Policy in 2016 and that the state govt has been encouraging start-ups ever since the policy was formulated.
“We are encouraging private and government run institutions to become incubators. The state govt has taken numerous steps to further the start-up ecosystem in the state,” Sahu said addressing the Policy Roundtable on Investment Opportunities in Start-ups in Odisha by FICCI.
Sahu emphasized that a separate Rs 100 crore fund of funds has been notified and it is expected to leverage another Rs 100 crore from private investors.
Separate hangars have been set aside solely for the start-ups participating in the MSME National Trade Fair that will commence in March on Biju Patnaik Jayanti. Most of the start-ups participating are women-led, Mr Sahu noted.
Nitin B Jawale, MD, Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (IPICOL) said that Odisha offers sector specific opportunities for start-ups in electronics manufacturing, seafood processing, food processing, aluminium downstream and chemicals, petrochemicals, and plastics.
Prasanta Biswal, Evangelist, Startup Odisha said the financial incentives offered to start-ups include a monthly allowance of Rs 20,000. The government also aims to provide product development and marketing assistance to the tune of Rs 15 lakhs, he added.
For incubators, Mr Biswal said that the state government offers a one-time capital grant of a maximum of Rs 1 crore for setting up incubation facilities. The govt also offer a matching grant up to Rs 5 crores for scaling up incubation facilities and performance capital grant of Rs 5 lakhs for successful incubate.
The Start-up Odisha landscape has 906 recognized start-ups, among which are more than 300+ women-led start-ups; 17 recognized incubators; and 15 nodal agencies. So far 190 grants have been awarded to start-ups and incubators, he informed.
