STPI ties up with Yes Bank, MathWorks and others to nurture startup ecosystem

In a bid to strengthen India’s entrepreneur ecosystem and boost digital economy, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has signed six different Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of Baroda, YES Bank, MathWorks, Yourstory, Freshworks and Pontaq.  

The partnerships, according to a statement will create opportunities for startups across segments such as blockchain, IoT, big data and other technologies at STPI’s Centres of Excellence (CoE). 

STPI, an autonomous society formed in 1991 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has been working to promote startup ecosystem in India through the formation of 28 CoEs. In addition to the 13 existing CoEs, the organisation announced plans to launch 12 CoEs in June this year.  

“We have 177 start-ups on our platform from already launched 13 STPI CoEs and NGIS (Next generation Incubation Scheme). Signing of MoUs is a key step towards building a robust start-up ecosystem in the country,” Subodh Sachan, director, STPI and MD and CEO at STPINEXT said in a statement. STPINEXT is a subsidiary company incorporated by STPI to act as the nodal agency and common implementation vehicle for various startup and entrepreneurship activities at STPI. 

As part of the partnership, mathematical computing software provider MathWorks will offer free access for a year to its tools including MATLAB, Simulink and 90 other add-on products, training and promotion opportunities.  

YES Bank will offer its services in four areas. First is the bank’s API hub integration with Fintech CoE. Second, the bank will act as an outreach partner to STPI’s Smart City Challenge. It will also function as a knowledge partner to STPI CoEs in the areas of electric vehicles, Blockchain and Smart Agri. And fourth, the bank will work as an industry partner to NGIS as well as STPINEXT. 

Bank of Baroda will provide complete banking solution to STPI and STPINEXT startups and give them access to schemes and benefits. It will also offer cloud credits and mentorship as part of a startup kit on offer. Cross border innovation fund Pontaq will be the fund manager for Rs 120 crore corpus under NGIS. The initial corpus of Rs 60 crore will be invested into 300 select startups in the pre-revenue stage with demonstrable proof-of-concept. Pontaq will be responsible for raising matching corpus of Rs 60 crore which will be earmarked for follow-on investments into some of these startups.