Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Start ups found eligible for My Assam Startup ID (MASI) can apply for grants up to Rs. 50 lakhs for scaling up their business.

Inaugurating an event to celebrate innovations in Assam’s start-up ecosystem and recognize outstanding Proptech start-ups here today, Sarma said for helping the start ups with financial aid, Government of Assam has introduced My Assam Startup ID. ( MASI)

"292 applications have been evaluated out of the 368 applications received and 125 startups have been granted. He also said that in a significant development to push forward start-up ecosystem in the state, the Government of Assam is going to enter in to an MoU with SIDBI for establishing a Venture Capital assistance of Rs 200 Crore for Assam specific Start-ups.

He said that though start-up movement in Assam started late, its progress is not slow. In recent years, it has picked up tremendous pace and as a result it has generated much hope and opened new opportunities for Assam’s youth.

He also said that recently in a major success, in the States’ Startup Ranking 2021, Assam Startup has been recognized as a Leader (Category A) in developing a strong startup ecosystem in the state by Government of India. This has been a steep progression from its previous recognition of being an Emerging Startup Ecosystem.

"The state has further been acknowledged as a Mentorship Champion for building a large mentorship network for startups. It is indeed an encouraging achievement for the youths of Assam to take up entrepreneurship in a much larger scale, the Chief Minister added.

Sarma said that taking cue from the Government of India’s vision, Assam government has also taken concerted steps to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and convert job-seekers into job-creators and to transform Assam into a major Start-up hub of the country.

"The success of the entrepreneurs of the State is a strong testimony of their innovative ideas that have immense potential to position Assam more visibly in global market. Dr. Sarma also said that the growth of Assam’s start up has been facilitated by B-School Incubator IIM Calcutta Innovation Park which has been associated with the state’s Start up initiative as a Knowledge Partner. He also said that the Nest has, so far, carried out 74 outreach events, reaching out to over 15,000 students, young innovators, and aspiring startups across every district of Assam. Initiating the Hub and Spoke model, Assam Startup – The Nest (Hub) has, so far, signed 43 collaboration memoranda with top universities and colleges, the Chief Minister added.

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