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T Hub to get VCs in 6 months
With T-Hub, billed as the countrys largest incubation centre, evoking over whelming response from the entrepreneurs, the Telangana government is now making concerted efforts to attract venture capital firms (VCs) whose presence is essential for the success of any startup hub.
Hyderabad: With T-Hub, billed as the country’s largest incubation centre, evoking overwhelming response from the entrepreneurs, the Telangana government is now making concerted efforts to attract venture capital firms (VCs) whose presence is essential for the success of any startup hub.
“Yes, you are right. There are no major VCs present in the city. But that will change. It’s a matter of time. We are making efforts to get them here,” Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub, told The Hans India, when asked about the absence of VC eco-system, a key element for success of startups, in the city.
He further said that T-Hub was in the processing of identifying some good and promising startups so that it could take them to VCs. “Our plan is to take some amazing startups, show them to the VCs and bring them here,” he explained. Asked how long it would take for Hyderabad to get some VCs, he said, “I have two answers to offer. Will we become the next Bangalore or the leading city for startups in India? I think so, but it will take five years. How long it will take to get VCs? In less than six months”.
According to him, a few VCs are already showing interest in coming to the city. “Yes, some VCs are keen to come here and establish their offices. We will announce the details later,” he said.
The inauguration of T-Hub on November 5 this year by Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has not only given new impetus to the startups in Telangana, but also put Hyderabad on global startup map.
“We have been flood with over 1,000 proposals after the inauguration, but we could accommodate only a few hundred startups at the facility due to space constraints,” IT Minister K T Rama Rao said recently, adding that the government would build second phase of the T-Hub on a larger scale to provide space for more startups.
Encouraged by the growing presence of startups in the city, European startup accelerator Spark10 came forward to establish its presence in the city and help as many as 10 startups in the first phase. In addition to providing a seed fund of Rs 20 lakh to each of the startups, the accelerator will also provide mentoring to transform them into investable businesses.
“We strongly feel this is right to come to Hyderabad and start our India operations from here as the startup eco-system is expanding very fast,” Vijay Ketan Mitra, co-founder of the accelerator said. Spark10 is planning to invest $100 million over next two years and a major chunk of the fund will go into startups in Hyderabad.
By P Madhusudhan Reddy
