On Monday, Citi, an American lender, announced that it would provide a grant to Indian startups to help them scale-up activities with a positive societal impact in agriculture, healthcare, and financial technology.
According to an official statement, the lender has partnered with IIT-Kanpur and technology incubator T-Hub to launch a social innovation lab' that will carry the initiative forward.
As per to a press release, the lab has invited applications from early and growth-stage startups
across the country to submit proposals by December 2021 to receive support such as mentoring, business model development, go-to-market strategy, funding, and scaling opportunities.
"Approximately 25 early-stage startups will be provided with a grant for incubation, and five growth-stage startups will be provided with a grant for scaling their business further,"the statement said, without specifying how much money will be given to the companies as grants.
Mridula Iyer, Citi South Asia's head of treasury and trade solutions, stated that the lender is celebrating its 120th anniversary in India and is continuing to invest in the growth of institutions, corporates, and the startup ecosystem.
"By supporting grants for the incubation and acceleration of innovative startups in key areas, this collaboration with IIT-Kanpur and T-Hub reaffirms our commitment to economic growth and enabling progress across communities in India," Iyer said.
According to the statement, the grant would be given primarily to companies that have demonstrated proof of concept, established an existing customer base, and demonstrated the potential for national scale.