Tamil Nadu’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister T.M. Anbarasan on Thursday launched the Tamil Nadu Incubator Maturity Model (TNIMM) report at the Tamil Nadu Start-up Incubators Summit organised by Startup TN in Chennai.
The TNIMM is a framework for assessing start-up incubators across the State by identifying various parameters and criteria to promote them. An incubator helps early-stage start-ups grow by providing support, resources, and guidance. The framework was released to motivate incubators to compare themselves with top performers and improve their standards. The initiative is aimed at making the State the preferred start-up ecosystem in India and positioning it competitively among global ecosystems.
Mr. Anbarasan also gave ₹5 lakh each to 15 selected incubators to carry out sector-focused activities. He also handed over sanction orders to the tune of ₹14.70 lakh to 15 women entrepreneurs under Startup TN’s Women Initiative to reimburse money they had spent towards incubator rentals and facilities for their start-up’s growth.
Exclusive portal
The Minister also launched an exclusive portal named ‘Startup TN Catalyst’ to connect start-ups with appropriate incubators. He gave away Startup TN smart cards to 52 Incubators. These cards grant access to services required for incubators, including auditing, branding, marketing, and documentation, at discounted rates. Four memoranda of understanding were signed with banks, including HDFC, State Bank of India, Federal Bank, and Yes Bank, to streamline start-up support, making resources more accessible.
The number of start-ups in Tamil Nadu was only 2,300 in March 2021, which has now increased to more than 7,600 due to the efforts taken by the DMK government. About 50% of the start-ups are led by women, Mr. Anbarasan said, and urged start-ups to work alongside MSMEs to reach the Chief Minister’s goal of making the State a $1 trillion economy.
Archana Patnaik, Secretary for the MSME Department, and Sivarajah Ramanathan, Mission Director and CEO of Startup TN, were present.
