Funds allocated for northeast venture fund utilised for Covid fight: DoNER Ministry

The prime focus of the fund is to act as an enabler to stimulate enterprise building in the North Eastern Region and thereby contributing towards the creation of the ecosystem required for nurturing and developing enterprises in the North Eastern Region.

New Delhi: Fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in the Northeast has been accelerated with funds meant for promoting startups in the region has been diverted to boost up health infrastructure. A huge chunk of funds under the North East Venture Fund, aiming to promote start-ups in the Northeast, has facilitated the startups having innovative solutions like protective gears, sanitisers, sanitizing services, delivery services, work from home, and home-quarantine solutions, etc.

"The fund during the COVID-19 Pandemic has facilitated the startups having innovative solutions (protective gears, sanitisers, sanitizing services, delivery services, work from home and home-quarantine solution etc.) to counter COVID-19 crisis during the lockdown period by introducing them to the State government institutions and connecting them to sourcing and supply chain for their required material," officials from the Ministry of Development for North Eastern Region (DoNER) told to a Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs.

The Committee noted that 29 projects were given investment commitments and 32 projects are at various stages of processing under the North East Venture Fund. The Committee is of the view that North East Venture Fund is important to promote start-ups in North-Eastern Region. The Committee recommends making investments at the earliest which will promote the growth of business ventures and skill development in the Region.

The North East Venture Fund (NEVF) set up in association with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is targeting to fill the much-felt gap of equity faced by the entrepreneurs of the region, especially the first-generation entrepreneurs. The prime focus of the fund is to act as an enabler to stimulate enterprise building in the North Eastern Region and thereby contributing towards the creation of the ecosystem required for nurturing and developing enterprises in the North Eastern Region.

"The ecosystem for startups in the North East is in its nascent stage. NEVF (North-East Venture Fund) since its inception, has been continuously engaging with multiple local stakeholders in the startup ecosystem including incubators and accelerators and startup initiatives of state governments in the region, PSUs, management institutions and industry associations to help the startups to establish a network for mentoring, skill development and seed funding etc," the officials said.

The fund has also been organising business summits and workshops to reach entrepreneurs and startups from all the states of the region. All these efforts have resulted in the creation of an ecosystem to promote startups in the North Eastern Region resulting in a steady flow of investment proposals. The fund so far approved investments worth Rs 66.31 crore in 31 ventures across sectors including healthcare, mobility, IT &ITeS, food processing and food tech, adventure tourism, agri-allied services and handicraft.

"As the economy is now on the path of recovery, amidst concerns due to COVID-19 related fresh restrictions, NEVF will fully utilize the fund by the end of FY 2021-22 as required under Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) resulting in the growth of business ventures and skill development in the region," officials in the DoNER ministry said.