The Tamil Nadu government plans to set up a mega incubator for startups with a focus on design, marketing and sales, said Sivaraja Ramanathan, mission director, Startup TN.
Established in 2021, Startup TN is an initiative of the Tamil Nadu Government to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu and establish the necessary ecosystem components in the state.
Tamil Nadu has seen a nearly four-fold increase in the number of startups in the last two years, propelling the state from last to first in the startup rankings, Ramanathan said at the talks held at YourStory’s flagship event, Tamil Nadu Story 2024, in the state.
Currently, there are 8,952 startups in the state and the Tamil Nadu Startup Policy aims to increase this number to over 15,000 by 2028.
Highlighting the importance of incubation, Ramanathan said, “There are 124 incubation centres in the state, but only 20 per cent of them are creating real meaning. To take it to the next level, sometimes you need to accept the truth… you need to create the depth required for innovative and scalable startups.”
The government’s proposed incubator aims to make that happen.
StartupTN is studying the ecosystem in the state to understand how many businesses have the potential to innovate and scale. The aim is to ensure that the Tamil Nadu government has no “illusions” about the definition of a startup and has a clear understanding of the difference between a small business and a startup, Ramanathan said.
Incubation will play a key role here, he added.
“Startup TN will launch an industry-agnostic incubator that will help companies design, market and sell their products.”
Ramanathan doesn’t buy into the concept of “unicorns” – companies valued at billions of dollars – and says the focus should be on building “fundamentally strong” companies.
In addressing the challenge of income inequality in the country, the Startup TN Mission Director highlighted the Tamil Nadu government’s efforts to promote inclusivity in the startup ecosystem through initiatives such as SC/ST Equity Fund, funding for women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, small enterprises, women-led startups, funding for transgender and disabled persons.
He also spoke about the state government’s efforts to provide GST and incorporation assistance to companies and to create startup hubs in cities like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Cuddalore, Salem, Hosur and Thanjavur.
“We also want to encourage entrepreneurship from campuses,” he said.
Stressing on the need to build breakthrough startups with world-class products, solutions and deep-tech innovations for the global market, Ramanathan said his vision is to position Tamil Nadu among the top 20 startup ecosystems globally in the next 10-12 years.
He said the plan is to host a “big budget” Global Startup Meet in Chennai early next year, with an international pavilion showcasing the best startup ecosystems, accelerators, investors and incubators from around the world.
