Andhra Pradesh to float 500-cr fintech fund

Hyderabad: As part of its focus on emerging technology space, Andhra Pradesh will set up a Rs 500-crore fund by March 2018, said a senior government official. AP government will invest in startups in the emerging financial technologies space. The state government is targeting to engage with 50 startups this fiscal in different segments including housing around a dozen of them in four new accelerators launched on Tuesday.

“AP government will float a Rs500-cr fund for technology startups. The state government will earmark Rs 100 crore and raise the remaining Rs 400 crore from financial institutions including Sidbi. These institutions will act as co-investors for the fintech fund. We expect the fund to be operational by March 2018,” JA Chowdary, the IT advisor to AP government, told the media in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The state government will select a fund manager through a bidding process who will be deciding on specifics like size of investment, and is also in talks with investors who can pool in money. The process has already been initiated. The fund is a part of government efforts to create a ‘Fintech Valley’ in Vishakapatnam, wherein it is trying to create an ecosystem with research and development, and also delivery-based work in areas like blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics.

In the last one year, it has already seen investments of over $20 million by names like Broadridge Financial Solutions, Paytm, Thomson Reuters and Visa choosing to set up base there, he said.