TiE moots seed fund for entrepreneurial growth

Ahmedabad, Nov 21 (UNI) The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Ahmedabad Chapter, today announced facilitating a seed fund to boost entrepreneurial ''ecosystem'' of Gujarat.

Talking to mediapersons, TiE Executive Director Badri Mahapatra said that the operation of the fund will remain independent of TiE but the objective is to encourage creation of a start up fund that is virtually non-existent in the region.

Mr Mahapatra made the announcement in the presence of TiE Global CEO Suren Dutia, TiE Asia Director Somnath Chatterjee and TiE Ahmedabad chapter President Ashok Mehta.

''TiE has become a brand synonymous with entrepreneurship,'' said Mr Dutia. Tracing its history, he said, ''TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region (which includes south Asia).'' ''There are currently 12,000 members in 47 chapters across 11 countries. TiE's mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, TiE's focus is on generating and nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs,'' Mr Dutia said.

Besides its flagship event, TiECon - the largest professional conference for entrepreneurs, TiE now has a wide range of programmes including Special Interest Groups (SIGs), TiE Institute, Deal Flow Meetings, TiE Young Entrepreneurs, and most recently, TiE Women's Forum and CEO Forum.

Elaborating on the seed fund, he said the main sources of investment for this fund will be HBIs (high networth individuals) looking for promising investment options and interested in start up ventures. It also includes Gujarat government agencies interested in specific sectoral growth like engineering and capital goods, tourism, IT/ITeS, and others, Mr Dutia said adding that a good business can expect to raise Rs 5 to 50 lakh from this fund. Funds also will be tapped from banks, FIs, and Gujarati entrepreneurs based in the Silcon Valley, he added.

Currently TiE has only one chapter in Gujarat and that is in Ahmedabad. Overall there are 13 chapters in India out of the 47 worldwide. It also has two chapters in Pakistan and one in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Mauritius.

TiE Asia director Somnath Chatterjee said that seed fund caters to entrepreneurs who have open-ended business plans. TiE by itself does not manage funds but helps to create through a corpus start up funds.

UNI